Peps and Sanctions check

FAQ

• What is a political exposed person?

  A Political Exposed Person (PEP) is an individual who has been entrusted with a prominent public function, or who is closely associated with such an individual. PEPs are generally considered to pose a higher risk of corruption and money laundering due to their influential positions and access to large sums of money. As a result, financial institutions are required to take extra measures when dealing with PEPs, such as enhanced due diligence.

  PEPs come from a variety of backgrounds, including politics, government, the military, and business. In some cases, their family members may also be considered PEPs. Political Exposed Persons are not necessarily corrupt, but there is a higher risk that they could be involved in illicit activity.

• What are sanction (PEP) checks?

  Global sanctions checks are searches of international government databases and are designed to identify people who are prohibited from working in certain roles or sectors. The global sanction check is one element of our comprehensive screening program.

• What information do we use to run sanction (PEP) check?

  PESCHECK uses databases all over the world in which information can be retrieved quickly, reliably, and automatically in +200 countries. The pep and sanctions check allows you to search through all sources of information conveniently and efficiently, current as well as updated daily.

• What information do I need to run a sanction (PEP) check?

  There are four basic fields that every candidate must supply when completing their own personal profile for this process. This includes the full name, data of birth and current address of the candidate. Make sure all relevant data is included, it will help speed up the overall time it takes before you can get your certification.

• Why are sanction (PEP) checks important for sectors?

  Pep and sanctions checks are a crucial process to ensure that your company does not have any hidden business relationships with restricted countries or organisations. This will help avoid fines from international legislations in the UK, Europe, US & worldwide.

• What do our sanctions lists consist of?

  The sanctions lists often referred to as Anti-Money Laundering (AML) watchlists are a combination of multiple lists from all major sanctioning bodies around the world, our sanctions lists consist of:

  You can also download the full document with extra details here: Watchlist-Screening-List-and-Types-International-PESCHECK010122

  • Politically Exposed Person (PEP)

  Any individual that is considered a Politically Exposed Person in their own capacity or by association.

  • Sanction (SAN – includes Current and Previous)

  Any individual or entity that is or has formerly been subject to sanctions at international, regional, or national levels.

  • Regulatory Enforcement List (REL)

  Any individual or entity that has been fined or in some other way subject to action by any financial regulatory body or law enforcement authority.

  • Disqualified Director (UK Only)

  With any individual that has been disqualified as acting as a director of a company.

  • Insolvency (UK & Ireland Only)

  Any person that has been declared as bankrupt or insolvent.

  • Reputational Risk Exposure (RRE)

  Any individual or entity that has been reported in official or media sources to be involved in a crime that falls under one or more of the following categories – terrorism, financial crime and fraud, modern slavery, organised crime, bribery and corruption, and cybercrime.

  • Charities Commission (UK Only)

  Individuals and entities listed by the United Kingdom Charities Commission.

  • Gambling Risk Intelligence (GRI)

  Contains our archive of anonymised due diligence reports on VIP casino players and online casino players.

  • PEP-Linked Business

  Entities owned or controlled by politically exposed persons.

  • State-Owned Enterprise (SOE)

  Profiles of companies in which the state exercises control or ownership.

  • Corporate Registry

  Individuals and entities listed by the United Kingdom Register of Businesses, Companies House. Includes company data from further 128 countries.

  • Profile of Interest (POI)

  Natural or legal persons that were profiled based on Acuris Risk Intelligence’s legacy data model and can be linked to outdated red flags, such as expired PEP status, reputational risk, or regulatory measures no longer in force.

  And includes the global and in-country lists such as:

  Any individual or entity that has been reported in official or media sources to be involved in a crime that falls under one or more of the following categories – terrorism, financial crime and fraud, modern slavery, organised crime, bribery and corruption, and cybercrime.

  • S. sanctions list — Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

  OFAC, which is run by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, produces trade and economic sanction lists that target certain people and businesses from identified nations as well as other risks to the national security, international relations, or economy of the United States.

  The OFAC maintains a lot of lists. The Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN) focuses on particular individuals or groups that are unrelated to a targeted country and includes “individuals and enterprises owned or controlled by, acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries.” Additionally, there is a Consolidated Sanctions List that compiles information from numerous other non-SDN databases.

  • EU sanctions list

  The Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU (CFSP). Restrictive measures (sanctions) against specific governments, entities, organisations, and people are a component of that policy.

  – The EU provides an online interactive tool that includes:

  • Countries with restrictive measures
  • People, organizations and entities on sanction lists
  • Legal acts for specific restrictive measures
  • Restrictive measures guidelines
  • UK sanctions list — Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI)

  An updated list of everyone subject to financial sanctions imposed by the UK is made available by OFSI, a division of HM Treasury. Asset freeze targets and those subject to investment and financial restrictions fall under this category. It should be noted that in February 2022, the structure of their consolidated list changed.

  • UN | United Nations’ sanction list All people and organisations covered by sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council are listed on the U.N. Security Council Consolidated List. On the Consolidated List as of March 7, 2022, there were 256 entities and 703 persons.
  • DNB | Sanctions and terrorism lists by the Dutch National Government

  People and organisations involved in terrorism are included on the national terrorism sanctions list. Their wealth has been frozen. This implies that they are unable to use their bank accounts or credit cards or access their money. This makes it more challenging for these individuals to engage in or commit acts of terrorism (financially).

Types of background checks