Posted on by Juan Carlavilla

Guatemala and its definition of PEP

Guatemala and its definition of PEP

The concept of a politically exposed person in prevention regulations is a common reality across all States. This widespread existence stems from cooperation between governments initiated by entities such as the FATF. Thanks to this joint effort, the laws and regulations of each State define their own notion of a politically responsible person. In this article, we will examine the case of Guatemala.

Guatemala, like other Latin American countries such as Argentina, Mexico, or Ecuador, also establishes specific regulations for politically exposed persons. The key regulatory instruments are:

The Special Verification Intendancy is an entity within the Superintendency of Banks, responsible for ensuring compliance with the Law against Money Laundering.

Guatemalan regulations require obligated entities to identify clients by verifying their “identity, legal name or corporate name, age, occupation or corporate purpose, marital status, address, nationality, legal representation, and legal capacity.” The obligated entity must also check whether the client qualifies as a Politically Exposed Person — PEP.

The Superintendency of Banks published a list on its website detailing the positions that are considered politically exposed at the national level. It also defines PEPs as individuals “who hold or have held a prominent public position in Guatemala or another country, or those who hold or have been entrusted with a prominent role in an international organization, as well as leaders of political parties at national or foreign levels who, due to their profile, are exposed to inherent risks based on their position or hierarchy.”

The Special Verification Intendancy also defines prominent public office in Guatemala as “positions derived from popular election or appointment in accordance with relevant laws, which confer authority, legal competence, or official representation of a municipality, department, entity, or state body.”

List of PEPs in Guatemala

Although the list of positions is extensive, the Superintendency of Banks notes that it is an “enumerative and non-exhaustive list of public offices in Guatemala.” This list is divided into 7 sections, with each section containing several positions classified as politically exposed.

  1. Executive Branch
    • President of the Republic
    • Vice President of the Republic
    • Executive Secretariats
    • Presidential Commissions
    • State Ministries
    • Other Executive Branch entities
  2. Legislative Branch
    • Congress of the Republic
  3. Judicial Branch
    • Supreme Court of Justice
  4. Other State Institutions
    • Political Control Bodies
    • Legal-Administrative Bodies
    • Non-Commercial Decentralized Entities
    • Non-Commercial Autonomous Entities
    • Social Security Institutions
    • National Public Enterprises
    • Public Financial Institutions
    • Other Public Institutions
  5. Local and Institutional Governments
    • Municipalities
    • National Association of Municipalities
  6. Political Parties
    • Political Parties
  7. Central American Parliament
    • Deputies

Below, we detail the main sources used by Pibisi to extract the PEPs of Guatemala:

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