# AMLR Art. 45 — Persons ceasing to be PEPs - **Part of:** [[AMLR]] - **FATF keying:** [[FATF R.12 - Politically exposed persons|FATF R.12]] - **Swiss provisions:** [[GwV-FINMA Art. 13 - Higher-risk business relationships|GwV-FINMA Art. 13]] - **Detailed citation:** GwV-FINMA Art. 13 ## What it requires Once a person is no longer entrusted with a prominent public function, obliged entities must factor the continuing risk from that former role into their Article 20 risk assessment (para. 1). They must apply one or more Article 34(4) mitigation measures until that risk no longer exists, but in any case for not less than 12 months after the person left the function (para. 2). The same duty applies when carrying out an occasional transaction or entering into a business relationship with a former PEP (para. 3). ## Swiss position GwV-FINMA Art. 13 sets no separate rule for former PEPs; it classifies business relationships by the risk criteria in force at any given time (Abs. 1-2bis), so a relationship stays higher-risk under Abs. 3 Bst. a (foreign PEPs, always) or Abs. 4 Bst. a-c (domestic and intergovernmental-organisation PEPs, with a further risk factor) for as long as those criteria are met - open-ended, not time-boxed. The one fixed time limit sits in GwG Art. 2a Abs. 4: domestic PEP status itself ends 18 months after leaving the function, with the intermediary's general due-diligence duties expressly reserved. Art. 2a sets no equivalent time limit for foreign PEPs or PEPs at intergovernmental organisations (Bst. a and c) - their PEP status, and hence Art. 13's higher-risk treatment, continues indefinitely on the ordinance's own terms. ## Key divergences A hard number mismatch, applied asymmetrically. AMLR Art. 45(2) sets one uniform floor - not less than 12 months' continued risk mitigation - for any PEP, regardless of category, after leaving office. Switzerland's comparable figure, GwG Art. 2a Abs. 4's 18 months, is longer, but applies only to domestic PEPs, and operates differently: it ends PEP status itself rather than setting a minimum tail of enhanced measures, and it expressly reserves the intermediary's general due-diligence duties without quantifying them further. Foreign PEPs and PEPs at intergovernmental organisations have no time limit at all in GwG Art. 2a; their treatment under GwV-FINMA Art. 13 (Abs. 3 Bst. a; Abs. 4 Bst. b) is therefore not time-limited either. So the two systems diverge on both the number (12 vs. 18 months) and its function (a continuing-EDD minimum vs. a categorical end of status), and Switzerland applies its own figure to only one of the three PEP categories the AMLR treats identically. ## Further connections *These links come from an article-by-article comparison of the primary texts. They add to the provisions listed at the top of this note and make no equivalence claim.* - [[GwG Art. 2a - Definitions (incl. politically exposed persons|GwG Art. 2a]] — Both address how long PEP treatment lasts after leaving office; AMLR Art. 45(2) sets a 12-month floor (longer while the risk persists) for all PEPs, whereas GwG Art. 2a(4) ends domestic-PEP status after 18 months with general due diligence reserved, and sets no end for foreign or international-organisation PEPs ("sind oder waren"). *(direct)* ## Authoritative text > [!quote]- Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AMLR), Article 45 — English text (EUR-Lex, CELEX 32024R1624) > **Article 45** > *Measures for persons who cease to be politically exposed persons* > 1. Where a politically exposed person is no longer entrusted with a prominent public function by the Union, a Member State, third country or an international organisation, obliged entities shall take into account the continuing risk posed by that person, as a result of his or her former function, in their assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risks in accordance with Article 20. > 2. Obliged entities shall apply one or more of the measures referred to in Article 34(4) to mitigate the risks posed by the politically exposed person until such time as the risks referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article no longer exist, but in any case for not less than 12 months following the time when the individual ceased to be entrusted with a prominent public function. > 3. The obligation referred to in paragraph 2 shall apply accordingly where an obliged entity carries out an occasional transaction or enters into a business relationship with a person who in the past was entrusted with a prominent public function by the Union, a Member State, third country or an international organisation. ## Sources - AMLR Art. 45 — CELEX 32024R1624 - GwG SR 955.0, Art. 2a Abs. 4 - GwV-FINMA SR 955.033.0, Art. 13