Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what risk assessment they carried out before parliamentarians were classified as politically exposed persons for the purpose of holding a betting account.

The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require firms in regulated sectors, including those regulated by the Gambling Commission, to obtain and verify certain information about their customers. Firms must have in place appropriate risk management systems and procedures to determine whether a customer is a Politically Exposed Person (PEP), or a family member or known close associate of a PEP. This is in line with the international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force.

Original measures on PEPs were put into UK law via the transposition of the European Union’s fourth money laundering directive in June 2017, as was the legal requirement at the time. There was therefore no risk assessment undertaken specifically by the UK but the impact assessment from this process can be found here. The Financial Action Task Force is the international standard-setter in anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing, and its guidance on PEPs can be found here.

HM Treasury is currently undertaking a review of the 2017 Regulations. As part of this review, the proportionality of current requirements regarding domestic PEPs is being considered and balanced alongside the risks posed to the UK’s financial system, and our international obligations to mitigate these risks. The Review will be published this summer.