What is a PEP?
According to § 2 para. 6 ff of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG), politically exposed persons (PEPs) are natural persons who hold or have held a high-ranking political, public, or state-affiliated role. Immediate family members and individuals with a close economic relationship to a PEP can also be classified as PEPs.
Significance in the Economic Context
PEPs are often in positions where they can influence the awarding of publicly funded contracts. This creates a heightened risk of corruption or undue influence, which is why enhanced due diligence obligations apply when doing business with or through such individuals.
Under the Financial Market Anti-Money Laundering Act (FM-GwG), special compliance rules apply to interactions with PEPs.
Identification of a PEP
Individuals can be flagged as PEPs if they hold any of the following roles:
| Category | Role |
|---|---|
| National-level State-affiliated Companies | Executive Board, Supervisory Board, Managing Director (companies owned ≥50% by the Republic of Austria) |
| Regional-level State-affiliated Companies | Executive Board, Managing Director (e.g., City of Vienna-owned companies with ≥50% shareholding and > €1M turnover) |
| Public Office Holders | Ambassadors, central bank officials, judiciary, Court of Audit, international organization officials, armed forces officers |
| Politicians | Federal or regional political office holders |
Close Relationships to PEPs (PEP Associations)
Individuals with personal or economic ties to a PEP may also be marked due to association. These include:
Spouse or partner
Relatives
Straw persons
Individuals linked to a beneficial owner who is a PEP
Persons in business relationships with a PEP
Basics of the PEP Screening
A PEP is typically someone in a prominent public role, including:
Politicians
Ambassadors
Executives in state-affiliated companies
High-level judicial or financial officials
Our PEP screening is designed to support KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) compliance efforts by identifying both direct and indirect connections to PEPs.
Features and Procedure
The PEP Checker allows you to screen natural persons beyond Austria as well:
Who can be screened: All natural persons (worldwide)
Input needed: Only last name is required — more precision improves match quality
Scoring system: Each match receives a confidence score indicating likelihood of match
Details provided:
Current/former roles
Date/place of birth
Associated individuals and their roles
Data Sources for PEP Screening (July 2025)
Our PEP dataset is built from a diverse range of structured sources. Below is the full list of individual data collections currently included:
Hetq Officials [AM]
Ann PEP Positions
Parliament [AR]
Meine Abgeordneten [AT]
Judicial Declarations [BG]
PEP Database [BR]
People’s Congress (Wikipedia) [CN]
Inventario de la Legislatura [CU]
InfoProbidad [CL]
Función Pública [CO]
Join Dots PEPs [CO]
Abgeordnetenwatch [DE]
PEP Register [DK]
Riigikogu [EE]
Committee of the Regions Members [EU]
Members of the European Parliament [EU]
EU Public Functions [EU]
EveryPolitician (Global)
Assemblée nationale [FR]
Sénat [FR]
Mayors [FR]
Declarations [GE]
Legislative Council (LegCo) [HK]
Principal Officials [HK]
Public Officials [HR]
Regional Candidates 2018 [ID]
Knesset Members [IL]
Althingi [IS]
Judicial Officials [KY]
Parliament [KY]
Declarations [LT]
Seimas [LT]
Saeima [LV]
ACP PEPs [ME]
Officials [MK]
Deputies [MX]
Governors [MX]
Senators [MX]
Chipper PEPs [NG]
Join Dots PEPs [NG]
House of Representatives [NL]
FIU Declarations [RO]
Government Directory [SG]
Zvezoskop [SI]
Public Officials [SK]
Cabinet Members [TH]
Parliament [TR]
CIA World Factbook [US]
CIA World Leaders [US]
U.S. Congress [US]
U.S. Navy Directory [US]
Plum Book [US]
Plural Legislators [US]
U.S. State Department Protocol List [US]
UN General Assembly Protocol [UN]
PEP List [UY]
Asamblea Nacional [VE]
Wikidata Categories
Wikidata PEPs
Municipal Managers [ZA]
PMG Legislators [ZA]
These sources are continuously updated to provide high-quality, compliant, and global coverage for politically exposed person (PEP) screening.