Politically exposed persons, or PEPs, are people which have prominent, public political functions (typically these are not Swiss citizens). The term also refers to people who have close relationships with prominent political figures.
When dealing with PEPs, banks and wealth managers must take particular care in managing assets and ensuring the origin of assets. A number of databases are used in this process, and particularly in determining whether or not a person is classified as a PEP.
Banks and wealth managers take on a certain amount of risk when they form relationships with PEPs, particularly when sources of income are difficult to verify.
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