The banks implementing rules for anti-money laundering have been asking for a full list from the state for quite some time already.

In the explanation letter of the bill sent by the minister of finance on Monday, it says identifying politically exposed people is as important as those performing important public functions as they are presumed to have a higher potential risk of money laundering.

When concluding business relations and concluding transactions with the listed people, banks are obligated to take additional due diligence measures.

However, requirements for politically exposed people are of a preventive nature, are not criminalizing and should not be interpreted as treating a person with a political background as a participant in criminal activity. Nor can a person be refused a business relationship simply because he or she has a political background.

The following positions are considered to be persons of state background: President, Prime Minister, Minister, Member of the Riigikogu, member of the board of a party, State Secretary, Chancellor of the Ministry, Auditor General, Chancellor of Justice, Chief Justice, Chief Public Prosecutor, Chairman and Deputy Governors.

The full list can be seen here in Estonian and includes a full list of positions, ministries, state agencies and hospitals.

The bill will be presented to the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Justice, the Financial Supervision Authority and to the Tax and Customs Board.

The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act obligates banks to get to know their clients better and identify politically exposed people and only continue with relations if the higher management allows it.

--

Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!