Introduction to Sanctions Screening and Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs)

A concept course on the two screening controls every regulated financial institution in India runs on its customers: sanctions screening and politically exposed person (PEP) screening. You start with what each control is for and the Indian legal base behind it, from the PMLA and PML Rules to Section 51A of the UAPA and Section 12A of the WMD Act. You then map the sanctions landscape: UN Security Council lists and how India implements them, domestic designations, and why OFAC, EU and UK regimes still matter to an Indian firm. The PEP chapters cover who counts as a PEP under FATF, the PML Rules and the RBI KYC Master Direction, how family members, close associates and beneficial owners extend the net, and why a PEP is a higher-risk customer rather than a prohibited one. The practice chapters explain screening points across the customer lifecycle, name matching and false positives, how alerts are investigated and dispositioned, and what happens after a confirmed sanctions match or a confirmed PEP. The course closes with record keeping, enforcement lessons and a screening framework for a small Indian broker or NBFC. Educational content only, not legal or regulatory advice.