Guide
What is PEP screening?
PEP screening identifies politically exposed persons (PEPs) and close associates to apply risk-based controls. It is one of the highest-leverage checks you can add alongside sanctions screening because it improves reviewer prioritization and audit defensibility.
PEP basics
A PEP is generally a person who holds (or has held) a prominent public function. Many regimes also treat close family members and known associates as PEP-linked risk. PEP status usually drives enhanced due diligence rather than an automatic rejection.
How PEP screening works
- Normalize names and transliterations
- Match against PEP sources with tuned thresholds
- Use identifiers (DOB, country, role) to clear false positives
- Escalate true matches for EDD and approvals
What to do when you get a hit
Your reviewer workflow should be consistent and documented. A practical disposition checklist:
- Confirm or rule out identity using secondary identifiers
- Record evidence (screenshots/URLs/fields) for audit
- Decide EDD requirements and monitoring cadence
- Document approval and rationale
PEP screening vs sanctions screening
Sanctions matches often require immediate action, while PEPs are usually risk signals. Most programs implement both and unify the reviewer experience so analysts can triage in one place.