Politically Exposed Person (PEP) Weekly Digest – Volume 131

131st PEP Weekly Digest:

Introducing the 131st 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 Nov 30, 2025 and Dec 28, 2025. These elections hold significant importance, as they will determine the direction and governance of each respective country’s future.

Tinubu Swears In Gen. Christopher Musa as Nigeria’s New Defence Minister After Badaru’s Resignation

One noteworthy event has occurred in Nigeria: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sworn in General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Retired.) as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence, marking a decisive move in the administration’s ongoing security reforms.

The President administered the oath of office on General Musa in his office at the State House, Abuja, indicating General Musa’s transition to the nation’s principal defence policy custodian.

The new Defence Minister’s appointment comes less than 48 hours after the resignation of his predecessor, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar.

Madhesh Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav Resigns Ahead of Confidence Vote After Supreme Court Order

Shifting our focus to Nepal, Chief Minister of Madhesh province Saroj Kumar Yadav has resigned from his position.

He submitted his resignation while presenting his views during the provincial assembly meeting.

After the Supreme Court’s mandamus order to take a vote of confidence within 24 hours, the chief minister had said that he would seek a vote of confidence on. However, realizing he would not secure the confidence vote, he expressed anger toward the opposition parties and resigned.

Yadav, the parliamentary party leader of the UML in Madhesh province, was appointed chief minister on November 9 and took the oath of office the next morning at a hotel in Bardibas, Mahottari.

Zardari Approves Asim Munir as Chief of Defence Forces, Cementing Military’s Grip Over Pakistan’s Civilian Government

In Pakistan, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has approved Asim Munir for the newly created position of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), while he also remains the Chief of the Army Staff, solidifying the military’s disturbing dominance over Pakistan’s civilian government. This move, which grants Munir command over all three services for five years, is a stark confirmation that the army has once again outmanoeuvred the political leadership, effectively making the civilian government subordinate.

The fact that the decision was delayed due to speculation about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s reluctance only underscores the power struggle, which the military clearly won by pushing through the new CDF role via the 27th Constitutional Amendment. This is not about centralising military command for efficiency; it is about legalising and institutionalising military rule, placing one unelected officer at the apex of all strategic power and pushing Pakistan further down the path toward entrenched authoritarianism.

Betfred Fined £825,000 for Anti-Money Laundering and Safer Gambling Failures, Ordered to Undergo Independent Audit

In the realm of regulatory affairs, Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Limited, trading as Betfred, has been ordered to pay £825,000 after the UK Gambling Commission found weaknesses in its anti-money laundering and safer gambling controls in its retail betting shops, particularly around B3 gaming machines. The operator has also received a formal warning and must undergo an independent third‑party audit, in a case that follows a £3.25 million settlement for similar failures in 2023.

The UK Gambling Commission has fined Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Limited, trading as Betfred, £825,000 for anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures in its betting shops, ordering a third-party audit and issuing a formal warning after identifying technical but “unacceptable” breaches in its 2024 compliance assessment.​

UK Labour MP Tulip Siddiq Sentenced in Absentia to Two Years in Bangladesh Over Disputed Corruption Case

Shifting our attention to the United Kingdom, Labour MP and former minister Tulip Siddiq has been sentenced to two years in prison in Bangladesh after being put on trial in her absence alongside 16 other people over corruption allegations.

She was found guilty of influencing her aunt, Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to secure a plot of land for her family in the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, a claim she strongly denies.

Siddiq, who is based in London and has rejected the charges, is unlikely to serve the sentence. The Labour MP said the process had been “flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end”.

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