Politically Exposed Person (PEP) Weekly Digest – Volume 114

113th PEP Weekly Digest:

Introducing the 113th 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 influence the worldwide political landscape in eight nations, slated between Jun 05, 2025 and Sep 01, 2025. These elections hold significant importance, as they will determine the direction and governance of each respective country’s future.

Nawrocki Sworn In as Poland’s President, Signaling Shift Away from EU Path and Tensions with Centrist Government

One noteworthy event has occurred in Poland, Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian and supporter of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, was sworn in as Poland’s president, setting the stage for conflict with the centrist government and potentially cooler relations with Ukraine. Nawrocki took the presidential oath in a ceremony in the Polish parliament.

The election victory of Nawrocki, who was backed by the nationalist opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), dealt a blow to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s hopes of cementing the pro-European Union course he has set for the bloc’s largest eastern member and left his government floundering in the polls.

Former Porn Actor and Activist Juan Carlos Florian Appointed Colombia’s New Equality Minister Amid Backlash

Shifting our focus to Colombia, Juan Carlos Florian, a former porn actor and gay rights activist has become Colombia’s new equality minister. Juan Carlos Florian appointment to the cabinet became official on Saturday despite opposition and public backlash.

Florian, who was a sex worker and creator of gay porn, will head up a department that guarantees vulnerable communities get access to social programmes.

Juan Carlos Florian has already served as a junior minister and worked in various international organisations.

Juan Carlos Florian, a political scientist with over twenty years of experience in human rights advocacy and international cooperation, had been serving as vice minister of equality since April.

Indra Bahadur Baniya Appointed Bagmati Chief Minister with Backing of 64 Lawmakers, Replacing Lama

In Nepal, Bagmati Province Head Deepak Prasad Devkota appointed Indra Bahadur Baniya as the new chief minister. Earlier, Baniya had submitted his claim to the post with the backing of 64 provincial lawmakers.

Baniya, who also chairs the Nepali Congress’s Bagmati province committee, becomes the sixth person to lead the provincial government. He replaces Bahadur Singh Lama, who stepped down on Sunday amid growing political pressure and waning support within his own party.

A simple majority of 56 seats is needed to form a government in the 110-member provincial assembly. Baniya comfortably surpasses that figure with the support of 37 members from the Nepali Congress members and 27 from the CPN-UML.

Paxos to Pay $48.5M in Settlement Over AML Failures Linked to Former Binance Partnership

In the realm of regulatory affairs, Paxos has reached a $48.5 million settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) over anti-money laundering failures connected to its past relationship with Binance.

Under the terms of the settlement the blockchain infrastructure provider will pay a $26.5 million penalty to the state and invest $22 million to improve its compliance programme.

Paxos had an agreement with Binance to market and distribute the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin. According to the NYDFS, the company did not conduct sufficient due diligence on its former partner and had systemic shortcomings in its AML programme, including failures to effectively monitor for illicit activity and escalate red flags to senior management.

Chad’s Ex-PM Succes Masra Sentenced to 20 Years for Inciting Deadly Violence, Ordered to Pay $1.8M Fine

Shifting our attention to Chad, Former Prime Minister and opposition leader Succes Masra has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of disseminating racist and xenophobic messages that incited violence.

Masra was also ordered to pay a fine of 1 billion CFA francs ($1.8 million), his lawyer said.

The lawyer said his team planned to appeal. Masra was responsible for encouraging inter-communal violence in that left 42 people dead on May. Most of the massacre victims were women and children in Mandakao, southwestern Chad.

He was arrested on May 16, charged with “inciting hatred, revolt, forming and complicity with armed gangs, complicity in murder, arson and desecration of graves”.

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