Politically exposed persons are individuals who hold or have held significant public offices. Due to their positions of power, anti-money laundering legislation assigns them specific regulations, which result in a special duty of action for obliged entities.
Who are politically exposed persons? General aspects.
Spanish anti-money laundering regulations govern the status of politically exposed persons in Article 14 of Law 10/2010. This article establishes the obligation to apply enhanced due diligence measures for politically exposed persons, provides a definition of this type of client, and outlines the need to establish procedures to determine if a client qualifies as a politically exposed person, among other measures.
Definition under the Law
Spanish regulations, in the second section of Article 14, define politically exposed persons as “those who hold or have held prominent public functions.” The article goes on to list certain positions that qualify, such as heads of state, ministers, or secretaries of state, among others.
It further adds that the following individuals will also be considered politically exposed persons:
- those considered senior officials according to the Law governing the exercise of high-ranking officials;
- regional officials who have held prominent public functions at the regional level;
- mayors and councilors of municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants;
- senior executives in political parties with national, regional, or local representation;
- senior executives in Spanish trade unions or business organizations.
Additionally, Spanish legislation mandates the application of enhanced due diligence measures for the family members and close associates of politically exposed persons. Family members include the spouse, parents, children, and the spouses of the children of politically exposed persons; close associates refer to any person maintaining a close business relationship with the politically exposed person.
Given the wide range of positions and functions, the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offenses published a list of positions last July that determine who qualifies as a politically exposed person.
This list complies with the requirements of the Fifth Directive on anti-money laundering, which urges EU member states to draft an updated list of positions considered “prominent public functions.” Additionally, Article 14 gives a legislative mandate to the Commission to draw up a list of positions and functions that will determine politically exposed person status.
Commission’s List
The Commission divides the list into four groups: (1) Political parties and affiliates, (2) State, (3) Autonomous Communities, and (4) Local Entities.
Political Parties and Affiliates
This category includes individuals holding senior positions in political parties with national or regional parliamentary representation. The Commission then lists several positions considered as senior political leadership, such as the Presidency, Executive Committee, or Treasury. It is important to note that only those in senior leadership positions within represented institutions are considered politically exposed persons, excluding non-represented parties from this category.
The Commission also includes Spanish trade unions and business organizations in this group, listing senior management positions in the document.
State
Under the “State” group, the Commission considers numerous positions within the General State Administration. These include the Presidency of the Government, Vice Presidencies, Ministries, and the General Technical Secretariats, as well as positions within the Peripheral State Administration, such as the Government Delegations in Autonomous Communities.
It also acknowledges positions from other structures outside the General State Administration, such as senators and congressmen, senior prosecutors, and the Presidencies, Vice Presidencies, and Justices of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, among others.
Autonomous Community
This category includes executive positions within regional governments, such as the Presidents and Vice Presidents of Autonomous Communities, and positions within regional legislatures, such as regional deputies. Public company executives within regional government-controlled enterprises are particularly noted in this section.
Local Entities
For municipalities, mayors and councilors of municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, as well as those from provincial and Autonomous Community capitals, are considered politically exposed persons.
Conclusion
The publication of this list by the Commission has facilitated the work of obliged entities by clearly outlining which positions are considered politically exposed persons. However, the number of positions listed is vast. Therefore, it is essential to have digital tools to assist in identifying clients to determine if they qualify as politically exposed persons.
Below, we detail the main sources Pibisi uses to extract PEPs from Spain:
- Official website of the Parliament of Spain
- Official website of the Senate of Spain
- Official website of the Parliament of the Basque Country
- Official website of the Parliament of Catalonia
- Official website of the Parliament of Andalusia
- Official website of the Parliament of Madrid
- Parliament of the Valencian Community
- Parliament of Castilla and León
- Parliament of Galicia
- Parliament of the Cortes of Aragón
- Parliament of Extremadura
- Parliament of the Canary Islands
- Parliament of Castilla-La Mancha
- Parliament of La Rioja
- Parliament of Cantabria
- Parliament of Navarra
- Regional Assembly of Murcia
- General Assembly of the Principality of Asturias
- Parliament of the Balearic Islands
- Government Assembly of Ceuta
- Assembly of the Autonomous City of Melilla
- City Council of Madrid
- Official website of the City Council of Las Rozas
- Local Entities Portal of the Secretary of State
- Official State Bulletin
- Transparency Portal of the General State Administration
- Official page of BFA Tenedora de Acciones
- Official page of Ebro Foods
- Official page of Enagas
- Official page of Hispasat
- Official page of Red Eléctrica Corporación
- Official page of RTVE
- Official page of Alestis Aerospace
- Official page of Airbus Group
- Official page of Enresa
- Official page of IAG
- Official page of Indra
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