# FATF R.12 — Politically exposed persons - **Part of:** [[FATF Recommendations]] For foreign PEPs (as customer or beneficial owner), institutions must apply normal CDD plus enhanced measures: risk-management systems to identify PEP status, senior management approval to establish or continue the relationship, reasonable steps to establish source of wealth and funds, and enhanced ongoing monitoring. For domestic PEPs and persons entrusted with a prominent function by an international organisation, institutions need only take reasonable measures to determine such status, applying the same enhanced measures in higher-risk relationships. These requirements extend to family members and close associates of any PEP. ## Keyed AMLR articles - [[AMLR Art. 42 - Politically exposed persons|AMLR Art. 42]] — Politically exposed persons - [[AMLR Art. 43 - List of prominent public functions|AMLR Art. 43]] — List of prominent public functions - [[AMLR Art. 44 - PEP insurance beneficiaries|AMLR Art. 44]] — PEP insurance beneficiaries - [[AMLR Art. 45 - Persons ceasing to be PEPs|AMLR Art. 45]] — Persons ceasing to be PEPs - [[AMLR Art. 46 - PEP family - associates|AMLR Art. 46]] — PEP family / associates ## Further AMLR connections - [[AMLR Art. 2 - Definitions|AMLR Art. 2]] — AMLR Art. 2(1)(34)-(36) defines politically exposed person (by prominent public function in a Member State, an international organisation, at Union level or in a third country), family member and close associate; R.12 requires enhanced measures for foreign PEPs (for domestic and international-organisation PEPs only in higher-risk relationships) and extends them to family members and close associates (AMLR's PEP measures are in Arts. 42-46). *(related)* - [[AMLR Art. 20 - CDD measures|AMLR Art. 20]] — FATF R.12 requires systems to identify whether a customer or beneficial owner is a PEP (reasonable measures to determine status for domestic PEPs), extending to family members and close associates, as in AMLR Art. 20(1)(g). *(direct)* ## Swiss counterparts - [[GwG Art. 2a - Definitions (incl. politically exposed persons|GwG Art. 2a]] — GwG Art. 2a Abs. 1 defines foreign PEPs, domestic PEPs and PEPs of intergovernmental organisations and international sports federations; Abs. 2 covers persons close to them. *(direct)* - [[GwG Art. 6 - Special due diligence obligations (clarification|GwG Art. 6]] — GwG Art. 6 Abs. 3 makes relationships with foreign PEPs and persons close to them higher-risk in every case; Abs. 4 does so for domestic and international-organisation PEPs only together with further risk criteria. *(direct)* - [[GwV-FINMA Art. 13 - Higher-risk business relationships|GwV-FINMA Art. 13]] — GwV-FINMA Art. 13 Abs. 3-5 classify PEP relationships as higher-risk, whether the PEP is the contracting party, controlling person, beneficial owner or authorised representative. *(direct)* - [[GwV-FINMA Art. 19 - Senior management responsibility for higher|GwV-FINMA Art. 19]] — GwV-FINMA Art. 19 reserves to the most senior management body the decision to enter into relationships with foreign PEPs, domestic PEPs, PEPs of intergovernmental organisations and persons close to them (Art. 13 Abs. 3 Bst. a-b, Abs. 4 Bst. a-c), and the annual decision to continue them. *(direct)* - [[GwV-FINMA Art. 15 - Additional clarifications for higher risks|GwV-FINMA Art. 15]] — GwV-FINMA Art. 15 requires additional clarification of higher-risk relationships, the Swiss enhanced due diligence that PEP relationships attract. *(related)* ## Authoritative text > [!quote]- FATF Recommendation 12 — text of the Recommendation (FATF Recommendations, updated June 2026); interpretive note not reproduced > **12. Politically exposed persons** > Financial institutions should be required, in relation to foreign politically exposed persons (PEPs) (whether as customer or beneficial owner), in addition to performing normal customer due diligence measures, to: > (a) have appropriate risk-management systems to determine whether the customer or the beneficial owner is a politically exposed person; > (b) obtain senior management approval for establishing (or continuing, for existing customers) such business relationships; > (c) take reasonable measures to establish the source of wealth and source of funds; and > (d) conduct enhanced ongoing monitoring of the business relationship. > Financial institutions should be required to take reasonable measures to determine whether a customer or beneficial owner is a domestic PEP or a person who is or has been entrusted with a prominent function by an international organisation. In cases of a higher risk business relationship with such persons, financial institutions should be required to apply the measures referred to in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d). > The requirements for all types of PEP should also apply to family members or close associates of such PEPs.