Who is a Politically Exposed Person?

A politically exposed person is a natural person who occupies or has ceased to occupy important public offices less than a year ago. Their family members and people with whom they have close relations should also be included in this category.

Individuals who occupy or have occupied important public office are:

• President of the Republic, President of the Council, Minister, Vice-Minister and Undersecretary, President of the Region, Regional Councillor, Mayor of a provincial capital or metropolitan city, Mayor of a municipality with a population of not less than 15,000 inhabitants and similar offices in foreign states;
• Member of Parliament, Senator, Member of the European Parliament, Regional Councillor and similar offices in foreign states;
• Member of the central governing bodies of political parties;
• Judge of the Constitutional Court, magistrate of the Court of Cassation or the Court of Auditors, State Councillor, other members of the Administrative Justice Council for the Sicilian Region and similar offices in foreign states;
• Member of the governing bodies of central banks and independent authorities;
• Ambassador, chargé d'affaires and equivalent offices in foreign States, senior officer of the armed forces and similar offices in foreign States;
• Member of the administrative, management or control bodies of companies controlled, even indirectly, by the Italian State or by a foreign State or controlled, predominantly or wholly, by the Regions, by provincial capitals and metropolitan cities and by municipalities with a total population of not less than 15,000 inhabitants;
• General Manager of ASL and of the hospital company, of the university hospital company and of the other bodies of the national health service.
• Director, deputy director and member of the management body or equivalent functions in international organizations.

Family members of politically exposed persons are: 

• parents; 
• spouse or person in a civil partnership or de facto cohabitation;
• children and their spouses and persons linked to their children in a civil partnership or de facto cohabitation.

The persons with whom PEPs are known to have close relations are:

• natural persons linked to the politically exposed person due to the joint effective ownership of legal entities or other close business relationship;
• natural persons who only formally hold total control of a notoriously established entity, de facto, in the interest and for the benefit of a politically exposed person.