WorkflowSanctions Screening

PEP Screening

PEP screening that settles every hit with its source and ends PEP treatment the day the rules allow

Every PEP hit settled with its sources, and PEP treatment ends the day the rules allow.

See one case, screen by screen ↓
demo760hitsof 842 this month ruled out by agents, each with the identifier or rule that settles it
demo222daysa former minister was treated as a PEP past the date his treatment could end
target90%of hits settled by agents with the identifier or rule that decides, checked by people on a sample
target0daysof PEP treatment past the date the rules allow
In short

What is PEP Screening?

PEP Screening is software for KYC teams that confirms or rules out politically exposed persons, their family members and close associates, and routes them to enhanced due diligence. Agents settle each hit with the identifier or rule that decides it, date every public role from public records and propose when PEP treatment may end. A KYC analyst records each decision and a senior manager or the MLRO approves it.

AI use cases in banking: a buyer's guide to agentic AI for bank and credit union operations →

Updated

The problem

Why PEP screening fills the queue, and PEP treatment never ends

PEP screening runs every night against lists that are broad and full of common names. Most hits are other people, or roles UK law does not count as prominent public functions: local councillors, junior officials, judges below the Supreme Court, military ranks below Lieutenant General, sporting federations. A KYC analyst clears them one by one, and the newly appointed minister with power over public procurement waits in the same queue as the namesakes.

The PEPs that are real are rarely dated. A PEP flag is set at onboarding and reviewed every two years, and nobody records when the office ended. So a former minister stays a PEP long after the 12 months the Money Laundering Regulations require, and his spouse, whose treatment should end the day he leaves office, stays a PEP family member too. Enhanced monitoring, senior sign-off and two-yearly reviews go to people the law no longer asks for, while the rule relied on, the dates, the maker and the checker live in notes.

typical90–95%of screening hits are false positives, as commonly reported
demo587daysa former minister's wife was treated as a PEP family member after the day he left office
demo4PEPsin the book still treated past the date their treatment could end
Where an analyst's hours go on one possible-PEP caseestimated
By hand7.3 hours
With the solution1.4 hours
  • Clearing namesakes and listed roles the law does not count1.5 → 0.2 h
  • Confirming identity, identifier by identifier0.8 → 0.1 h
  • Finding when each public role started and ended1.5 → 0.1 h
  • Family members, close associates and PEP-owned companies1 → 0.2 h
  • Higher-risk checks and the proposed measures1.5 → 0.4 h
  • Writing the rationale and getting the approval1 → 0.4 h

Estimated split for one possible-PEP case at the demo bank, worked by hand and with the solution.

How it works

How one PEP hit moves

Seven agents rule hits out, date every public role and propose when PEP treatment ends; an analyst records and a senior manager approves.

What comes in
What is read5 sources · the hit, the customer, public records and the rules
Agents at work
Identity agentthe identifier that decides
Then
Public role agentthe UK definition
Tenure agentappointed, left, 12 months
Then
Family and associates agentends on leaving office
Then
Treatment agentmeasures and approver
A person decides
KYC Analyst records, senior manager approvesreason code, then a second person
What comes out
Dated, cited PEP record
Approved decision
Hand-off to EDD
One case, step by step

One PEP screening case, from a list update to an approved end of treatment

Gareth Pryce-Whitlow, a private banking customer of Corvane Bank UK since 2019, was an MP for ten years and a junior minister until he resigned his seat in March 2025. The bank still treats him, and his wife, as PEPs. Here is what happens on the morning of Thursday, Oct 22, 2026, screen by screen, in the working solution.

  1. 01Thursday morning

    The night's work in one sentence, then the cases that need her

    Priya Hallworth · KYC Analyst

    Overnight the PEP data service's list update added Gareth's new board seat, and the nightly re-screen of 380,412 customers opened case HIT-26-10-0417, due Oct 28. Of 842 hits this month, the agents ruled out 760 with evidence, 41 matched known PEPs with no change, and 41 need a person, sorted by their clock. Gareth's case is first: “End PEP treatment for him and his wife”, confidence 0.96.

    “4 PEPs are still treated past the date their treatment could end.”

  2. 02Ruled out

    760 hits settled, each by the fact that decides it

    Identity agent · Public role agent

    702 hits are different people because an identifier differs: 418 because the date of birth differs. 58 hold roles that are not prominent public functions in the UK, such as 27 in local government and 5 judges below the Supreme Court, each with the paragraph of FCA guidance that excludes it. Priya checks a sample of a group, can disagree with any item, and only then confirms the group.

    “A name alone never rules a hit in or out; below 0.90 the hit goes to a person.”

  3. 036:11 a.m.

    Is this our customer? Five identifiers, side by side

    Identity agent

    The agent compares Corvane's customer record with the data service profile and public records: full name, date of birth, nationality, town and dates of office. All five match and none differs, so it is the same person, with confidence 0.99.

    “Same person: 5 of 5 identifiers match and none differs. Confidence 0.99.”

  4. 046:12 a.m.

    Each role tested against the UK definition, nothing wider

    Public role agent

    Member of Parliament is a prominent public function under regulation 35(14)(b), and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State under 35(14)(a). His non-executive directorship of a private company and his charity trusteeship are not, and he is not on his party's national governing body. He is a former domestic PEP, and domestic PEPs start from a lower level of risk under regulation 35(3A).

  5. 056:12 a.m.

    His public role over time, on one bar

    Tenure agent

    The Tenure agent reads each role's dates from public records and draws them: MP from May 7, 2015, junior minister from Jul 9, 2024, both ending Mar 14, 2025. A treatment row shows the 12 months after he left, ending Mar 14, 2026, and 222 days treated past that date. Pins mark Appointed, Left office, 12 months end and Today, and every date opens its source.

    Labels under the bar: Domestic PEP · Former · Lower-risk starting point · No higher-risk factor in 7 checks.

  6. 066:13 a.m.

    His wife's treatment should have ended the day he left

    Family and associates agent

    The agent finds his wife, Helena, among Corvane's customers. Her family-member treatment should have ended on Mar 14, 2025, the day he left office, under regulation 35(11): 587 days ago. His son is not a Corvane customer, so no action. It searched joint accounts and the persons with significant control of 2 companies; he holds 0.2% of one, and no close associates were found.

  7. 076:14 a.m.

    Seven higher-risk checks, all clear, and a proposal

    Treatment agent

    The agent runs the higher-risk indicators from FCA guidance, each with its source: wealth consistent with known sources, including a £410,000 inheritance; 41 articles since March 2025, none adverse; no power over public procurement or licenses; lower-risk products; no new public role. It proposes ending PEP treatment for him and family-member treatment for Helena today, with a senior manager's approval: confidence 0.96.

    What changes: risk rating Medium 46 to Low 21, enhanced PEP monitoring rules to standard, reviews every 3 years instead of every 2.

  8. 089:20 a.m.

    She records the decision, with a reason code

    Priya Hallworth · KYC Analyst

    Priya picks END-01, “12 months since leaving office, no higher-risk factor”, from 14 reason codes, adds a note, and leaves on the plain-words letter to Gareth and Helena. The decision goes to Owen Treharne, Senior Manager (MLRO delegate). Catriona Blackwood, the MLRO, is informed in her monthly report.

    The person who records a decision can never approve it.

  9. 099:24 a.m.

    Approved, and only then applied

    Owen Treharne · Senior Manager (MLRO delegate)

    Owen approves. The client lifecycle management system and the core banking system take the change: both PEP flags end, the risk rating falls from Medium 46 to Low 21, monitoring returns to standard rules, and the next review moves to Oct 2029. Screening carries on every night, and the record of his PEP status is kept.

    “If he takes a public role again, the Tenure agent reopens the case.”

  10. 10Same desk

    The opposite case goes to enhanced due diligence

    Priya Hallworth · KYC Analyst

    Dominic Harcastle-Reid became Minister of State for Defence Procurement in the reshuffle of Oct 19, with influence over equipment programs worth about £14 billion a year. Responsibility for large public procurement is a higher-risk indicator, so the lower-risk starting point gives way: the agents propose higher-risk treatment and the MLRO's approval, and Priya sends the hand-off to Nadia Kershaw in EDD.

    EDD must establish: source of wealth with evidence, the source of the £1.2 million deposit of Aug 2026, and his declared interests.

Who it’s for

Built for everyone who signs off a PEP.

The same PEP screening case, seen by the five people who carry it: what their week looked like, and what it looks like now.

PH
Priya HallworthKYC Analyst · 12 of the desk's 41 open cases are hers
KYC Analyst
Before
“Half my queue is councillors and namesakes. The other half has no end date on it.”
Now
Opens a case with every role dated, the end of treatment worked out for each person and the sources one click away; records the decision with a reason code.
OT
Owen TreharneSenior Manager, Financial Crime Operations · MLRO delegate
Senior Manager
Before
“Show me the date he left and the rule, and I'll sign.”
Now
Sees the dates, the rule and the analyst's reason on one screen, then approves or returns with a reason. He can never approve a case he prepared.
CB
Catriona BlackwoodMLRO · SMF17
Money Laundering Reporting Officer
Before
“I want proportion: lower risk where the law says so, more where the role earns it.”
Now
Approves foreign and higher-risk PEPs and any extension beyond 12 months, and sees every PEP relationship opened, ended or declined, every override and the clock.
NK
Nadia KershawEDD Specialist · source of wealth
EDD Specialist
Before
“Tell me why it is higher risk and what you need proven.”
Now
Receives each higher-risk PEP with the reason and a list of what must be established, each item with its due date.
RA
Ruth AshdownInternal Auditor · reads everything, changes nothing
Internal Auditor
Before
“Show me maker and checker on every one.”
Now
Filters an append-only trail of who, what, when, why and the evidence, and builds a redacted export pack in one step.
Built on the engine

7 agents. Each with one job, and hard limits.

Seven agents rule hits out, date every public role and propose when PEP treatment ends; an analyst records and a senior manager approves.

Screening coordinator

Takes every hit and trigger from the PEP data service, opens a case with its clock, runs the agents in order and routes the case to a KYC analyst.

  • Never closes a case or changes a customer record
Identity agent

Compares date of birth, full name, nationality, residence and dates of office, and names the identifier that rules a hit out.

  • Never rules out on a name alone
  • Below 0.90 confidence, a person decides
Public role agent

Tests every listed role against regulation 35(14) and the thresholds in FCA guidance FG25/3, and classifies the PEP as domestic or foreign.

  • Never treats a role outside the definition as a PEP without a documented decision by a person
Tenure agent

Records each role with its dates from parliament, appointment and company records, works out when treatment may end for each person, and watches elections, reshuffles and list updates.

  • Never ends treatment itself; it proposes with the date and the rule
Family and associates agent

Finds family members, close associates and PEP-controlled companies among the bank's customers, and sets each one's own end date.

  • In a lower-risk case, never asks about family beyond whether the relationship exists
Treatment agent

Starts domestic PEPs from lower risk, runs the higher-risk indicators, and proposes the measures, the approver and the review cycle.

  • Never approves, declines or closes a relationship
  • No decline on PEP status alone
Evidence agent

Keeps the sources, decisions and approvals on the case, writes the audit trail and builds redacted export packs.

  • Never omits an item from a pack
  • Never shows an internal suspicion report outside the MLRO's team
KYC Analyst

Records with a reason; a senior manager approves. The agents propose; a named person decides.

Ask in plain words

Ask the agents about any PEP, role or end date

Beside every case, ask about any person, role, end date or rule. Every answer points to its source.

Why can PEP treatment end now?

He left both offices on Mar 14, 2025. The Regulations require at least 12 months after that, which ended Mar 14, 2026. A longer period is only for PEPs assessed as higher risk, with the reason written down; none of the 7 higher-risk checks found anything. Your Standard ends treatment at 12 months in that case.

Has he taken any new public role?

No. Since leaving he became a non-executive director of a private company, Harlow Fenwick Engineering plc, on Jun 2, 2025, and a charity trustee in Jan 2026. Neither is a prominent public function. He is not on his party's national governing body. The Tenure agent keeps watching appointments and elections.

What happens to Helena's record?

Her family-member treatment should have ended on Mar 14, 2025, the day he left office; it has run 587 days since. The proposal ends it today in the same decision, with reason END-02. She keeps standard due diligence and screening.

Why was a county council leader ruled out?

Because local government in the UK is not a prominent public function: FCA guidance says the definition does not include it, and Corvane's Standard uses no wider categories. This month 27 local-government hits were ruled out on that basis, and an analyst checked a sample before confirming the group.

Every screen

The working solution, as it ships.

13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.

Public role over timeOne bar per person: each public role from appointment to leaving office, the 12 months after, the days treated past the date treatment could end, and the family member's own row, with the approval line at the end.
The PEP deskOne sentence on the night's PEP screening, the hits the agents settled, and the 41 cases that need a person, sorted by their clock.
Ruled out by the agents760 hits ruled out this month, grouped by the identifier that differs or the FCA paragraph that excludes the role, each group confirmed by sample.
Identity checkIs this our customer? Full name, date of birth, nationality, town and dates of office compared side by side, each with its source.
The public role testEach role tested against regulation 35(14) and FCA guidance FG25/3: a domestic or foreign PEP, and nothing wider than the law.
Family members and close associatesPEP family members and close associates among the bank's customers, each with their own end date: the day the PEP leaves office.
Higher-risk checksSeven higher-risk indicators checked with citations, and the proportionate PEP due diligence measures proposed, with what changes.
Record and approveThe analyst records the decision with a reason code and a note; a senior manager approves or returns it with a reason.
Approved and appliedAfter approval, the client lifecycle management and core banking systems take the change: PEP flags, risk rating, monitoring rules and next review.
Hand-off to EDDA higher-risk PEP handed to enhanced due diligence with the PEP EDD measures to establish and their due dates, for the MLRO's approval.
The PEP bookAll 138 PEP, family member and close associate relationships, with the date treatment may end, the next review and what is coming up.
MLRO oversightPEP relationships opened, continued, ended or declined this month, overrides by reason, the clock by queue, and agent agreement on samples.
Audit trail and export packAn append-only trail of who, what, when, why and the evidence, and a redacted export pack for FCA supervision, internal audit or the MLRO.
Governance

Built for financial crime risk: cited, approved by a second person, on the record.

Every value cites its sourceEvery date, role and agent statement opens its source passage, with the system, the author and the time: the parliament record, the appointment notice, the company register, the regulation or the FCA paragraph.
An analyst records, a second person approvesA KYC analyst records each decision with a reason code; a senior manager approves lower-risk domestic PEPs, and the MLRO approves foreign and higher-risk PEPs and any extension beyond 12 months. The maker can never be the checker.
Nothing changes before approvalThe client lifecycle and core banking systems are updated only after the approver signs. Agents never approve, decline, end treatment, change a customer record or send a letter.
Fair treatment, and no tipping offNo customer is declined or exited on PEP status alone, and letters use plain words. Relationship managers see status only, and internal suspicion reports never leave the MLRO's team.
An append-only trail, kept five yearsWho, what, when, why and the evidence, for every person and agent, kept five years after the relationship ends. Export packs for FCA supervision, internal audit, the MLRO report and the US parent's BSA officer are redacted.
Agents governed like any other controlAgent and model versions are pinned, a new version runs beside the live one before the MLRO approves a switch, rulings below 0.90 confidence go to a person, people check samples, and every override carries a reason code.
Configuration

Your PEP Standard, inside what the law decides

What the bank decides for itself are settings. Every change is proposed by the administrator, approved by the MLRO and kept on the trail; legal floors are locked and say why.

SettingDefaultChoose from
Armed forces: the lowest rank treated as a PEPLieutenant General or equivalentLieutenant General or equivalent · Major General or equivalent
State-owned enterprises: the state's shareOver 50%Over 50% · Over 25%
A PEP after leaving officeAt least 12 monthsLocked by regulation 35(9); longer only with a written higher-risk rationale and the MLRO's approval
Approver for a lower-risk domestic PEPSenior Manager (MLRO delegate)Senior Manager (MLRO delegate) · MLRO
Approver for a foreign PEP, or any higher-risk factorMLROMLRO · Senior Manager (MLRO delegate)
Clock for a new PEP or connection5 business days3 · 5 · 10 business days; escalate to the team lead at 80%, to the MLRO when late
Lowest confidence at which an agent may rule a hit out0.900.85 · 0.90 · 0.95; below it, a person decides
Sample of identity rulings checked by people5%3% · 5% · 10%
Connections

Works with the systems PEP screening already runs on

PEP data serviceprofiles, hits and the nightly list update
Client lifecycle management systemPEP flags, approvals and review dates
Core banking systemcustomer records, risk ratings and monitoring rules
Case managementcases, queues and reason codes
Document imagingsource of wealth evidence and letters
Public recordsparliaments, government appointments and company registers
What it changes

The difference, in numbers.

Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.

target
90%
of hits settled by agents with the identifier or rule that decides, checked by people on a sample
target
0days
of PEP treatment past the date the rules allow: 12 months after office, or the day the PEP leaves for family
Without end dates222 days past, in the demo case
With the Tenure agent0 days
typical
5years
every case kept with its sources and approvals after the relationship ends

“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate of where an analyst's hours go on one case · “typical” = screening false-positive rates as commonly reported by industry sources, directional. Rules referred to: Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulations 35 and 40 (legislation.gov.uk); FCA FG25/3, The treatment of politically exposed persons for anti-money laundering purposes (Jul 2025, fca.org.uk). The bank, people, companies, constituencies and customer numbers named on this page are fictional: characters and sample data in the working solution.

Questions

What KYC and financial crime teams ask us.

What is PEP Screening?

PEP Screening is software for KYC teams that confirms or rules out politically exposed persons, their family members and close associates, and routes them to enhanced due diligence. Agents settle each hit with the identifier or rule that decides it, date every public role from public records and propose when PEP treatment may end. A KYC analyst records each decision and a senior manager or the MLRO approves it.

How long is someone a PEP after leaving office?

Under the UK Money Laundering Regulations, a PEP is treated as one for at least 12 months after leaving a prominent public function, and longer only if the bank assesses them as higher risk and writes down why. Family members and close associates are treated as ordinary customers from the day the PEP leaves office. The Tenure agent works out each person's date and opens a case on the morning treatment may end.

How does it rule out false PEP hits?

The Identity agent rules a hit out only with the identifier that differs, such as a date of birth or a nationality; a name alone never rules a hit in or out. The Public role agent rules out roles UK law does not count, such as local government, citing the paragraph of FCA guidance that excludes them. Below 0.90 confidence a person decides, and analysts check a sample of every group before confirming it.

Are family members, close associates and PEP-owned companies screened?

Yes. The Family and associates agent searches joint accounts, ownership registers and relationships for family members and close associates among the bank's customers, each with their own end date. A company is treated with PEP measures only where the PEP has significant control: in the working solution, a 40% owner and director brings PEP measures, and the company's other owners are not treated as associates.

What are the EDD measures for a higher-risk PEP?

Domestic PEPs start from a lower level of risk; a higher-risk indicator, such as responsibility for large public procurement, changes that. The Treatment agent then proposes higher-risk treatment, MLRO approval and a hand-off to an EDD specialist listing what must be established, such as source of wealth with evidence, the source of funds for a large deposit and declared interests, each with a due date.

Can a customer be declined for being a PEP?

Not on PEP status alone: that rule is locked in the settings, and a decline needs the risk that cannot be managed. Letters to customers use plain words and never call them high risk, and relationship managers see only whether a customer is a PEP and the next review.

Do people stay in control of PEP decisions?

Yes. The agents propose, explain and cite; they never approve, decline, end treatment, change a customer record or send a letter. A KYC analyst records each decision with a reason code, a second person approves it, and an analyst who disagrees with the agents records an override with a reason that is reported to the MLRO.

How long does it take to go live?

The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents: your PEP Standard, approval rules, queues and a sample of past PEP hits. It goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own PEP hits first.

See it on
your PEP book.

We'll run PEP Screening on a sample of your own PEP hits and relationships.