Issue 453 (Week ending 04/05/2021)

Politically Exposed Person (PEP) compliance has become one of the most widely recognised and utilised KYC checks in the EU since it's addition to the AML world. In Ireland, all financial institutions regulated by the Central Bank such as Banks, Credit Unions, Insurance Companies etc. are required under the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive to PEP check all new and existing customers.

A PEP is an individual who is or has been entrusted with a prominent public function. Not only this, but any close business associates or family member of these people will also be deemed as being a risk and therefore could also be added to the PEP list. Many PEPs hold positions of influence and as a result carry a greater risk, if their influence is abused for the purpose of money laundering, corruption or bribery.

With new EU directives bringing change to the frequency of when PEPs should be updated to be on a 'Risk Based Approach' - many companies find it hard to know when and how to monitor and refresh their PEP list.

Risk Based Approach

Under the EU Directive AMLD4, a 'Risk Based Approach' was introduced. A risk-based approach means identifying, assessing, and understanding the money laundering risks one can be exposed to and taking the appropriate mitigation measures in accordance with the level of risk and make them the priority for controls and procedures to ultimately monitor and reduce potential risk.

For PEPs, this means that the highest risk customers should be more regularly screened to check for changes in their PEP status. However it with the PEP list changing daily, it can be challenging for companies to keep up-to-date with which PEPs need to be updated, monitored and re-examined. As well as producing a full audit trail of these checks if required.

With CRIFVision-net we take the effort and time out of manually monitoring your PEP lists with custom PEP Monitoring of your new and existing customers.

PEP Monitoring

With our PEP batch check, a full list of customers is submitted, CRIFVision-net runs a PEP check against all names on our database and a full report is returned to the customer. CRIFVision-net also provides a full audit trail of all batch checked PEP searches, with quick links to time-stamped PDFs of PEP searches on each customer, so your company is fully covered for audit purposes.

This PEP solution can also include our custom monitoring which can be customised to your company's own Risk Based Approach. Every monitoring solution is unique and matched to your needs, ensuring you receive an updated PEP list of any changes at intervals that suit you.

Why CRIFVision-net for PEP Compliance?

Most Comprehensive
CRIFVision-net publishes its coverage and sources of our global data - to ensure our clients know they are receiving the most comprehensive solution on the market.

Enriched Data
CRIFVision-net is the only PEP Screening Service in Ireland that enriches our PEP data with local insight to ensure you are always receiving the most relevant and up to date result.

Include Background Check
Unlike other PEP checks CRIFVision-net can extend the check to do background checks on an individual on a variety of different sources including delinquency and ownership database (e.g. CCI Check).

Irish Market Focused
CRIFVision-net is Irish market focused, allowing you access the most in-depth checks on Irish entities.

Supporting PDF
CRIFVision-net provides a supporting PDF document rather than a link to the PEP. The PDF is captured at a point in time and aids in data veracity. Just providing a link, which many of our competitors offer can be removed or updated and the evidence is gone.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you streamline your PEP compliance: Email: info.vision-net@crif.com or Tel: 01 903 2660