Politically Exposed Person (PEP) Weekly Digest – Volume 105

105th PEP Weekly Digest:

Introducing the 105th edition of The PEP Weekly Digest, where we present to you the most recent updates and news on the global political stage.

Recent and upcoming elections in eight nations are scheduled between June 1, 2025, and August 23, 2025, influencing the worldwide political landscape. These elections hold significant importance, as they will determine the direction and governance of each respective country’s future.

Maria Lúcia Amaral Appointed Minister of Internal Administration After Eight Years as Ombudsman

One noteworthy event has occurred in Portugal, Constitutionalist Maria Lúcia Amaral becomes Minister of Internal Administration after having spent eight years at the head of the Ombudsman’s Office, an institution responsible for receiving complaints from citizens who see their fundamental rights violated.

At 68 years old, Maria Lúcia Amaral was the choice of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro to replace Margarida Blasco as Minister of Internal Administration.

Maria Lúcia Amaral was first elected Ombudsman by the Assembly of the Republic on October 20, 2017, taking office on November 2 of the same year, and four years later, on December 3, 2021, she took office for a second term.

Lee Jae-myung Sworn In as South Korea’s 21st President, Vows to Restore Democracy and Spur Economic Growth

Shifting our focus to South Korea, Liberal Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was sworn in as the 21st President of South Korea today. He will serve a five-year term. South Korea’s National Election Commission held a meeting this morning and confirmed Lee’s win in the presidential polls. His nearest rival was Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party. The snap poll was held after former conservative leader Yoon Suk-yeol was ousted over his failed bid to impose martial law.

Mr Lee spoke to his supporters after he secured the win in the presidential race. He said his first mission will be to overcome the insurrection. He described the former president’s action as a military coup, and he said he never wants that to happen again. Mr Lee said his government will be a pragmatic pro-market government and promised deregulation to spur innovation and growth in business. He also pledged to reopen dialogue with North Korea, while maintaining a strong security alliance with the United States and bringing balance to diplomacy.

Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Resigns After Losing Confidence Vote Amid Corruption Protests

In Mongolia, Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene has resigned after losing a vote of confidence amid weeks of anticorruption protests.

Oyun-Erdene announced his resignation after Parliament failed to back him in a confidence vote, a parliamentary statement said.

Public frustration has been boiling over regarding the lavish lifestyle of the prime minister’s family, leading to persistent demonstrations in the capital, Ulaanbaatar.

“It was an honour to serve my country and people in times of difficulties, including pandemics, wars, and tariffs,” Oyun-Erdene said after the result of the secret ballot was announced to Parliament. Oyun-Erdene, who spent more than four years in office, had denied the corruption allegations against him. In an address to Parliament before the vote, he blamed “major, visible and hidden interests” for waging an “organised campaign” to bring down the government.

London Law Firm Fined £80,000 for Anti-Money Laundering Failures by Solicitors Regulator

In the realm of regulatory affairs, a London law firm has been fined nearly £80,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for failures to comply with the anti-money laundering (AML) rules.

The regulator has handed out a steady stream of fines over the last couple of years to firms that have not been able to show that they comply with the 2017 Money Laundering Regulations. The common failures have been not having in place a firm-wide risk assessment (FWRA) and/or policies, controls and procedures (PCPs) to mitigate and manage effectively the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, and not undertaking client and matter risk assessments (CMRAs).

At the moment, the maximum fine the SRA can impose on traditional law firms is £25,000, meaning it has to refer cases to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which has unlimited fining powers, where it believes more is warranted – it did this recently with Southend firm Tolhurst Fisher, fined £120,000 and US firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, fined £300,000.

Exiled Former Kyrgyz President Atambayev Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Prison for Corruption and Unrest

Shifting our attention to Kyrgyzstan, a court in Kyrgyzstan has sentenced in absentia exiled former President Almazbek Atambayev to more than 11 years in prison on charges of corruption and participating in mass unrest in the Central Asian country.

Atambayev’s conviction and sentencing came on Tuesday after the country’s Supreme Court ordered a retrial of an earlier lower court conviction.

In a new case, a court found him guilty of illicit enrichment, illegally acquiring land, and of participating in mass unrest in August 2019, when resistance to a special forces operation to arrest him left one person dead and many injured, Kyrgyz media reported.

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