Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-02-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the HSBC Board on its practice of (a) refusing and (b) withdrawing bank accounts from UK citizens who it identifies as being politically exposed persons; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin
Under the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations 2007, the meaning of a politically exposed person does not include an individual who is or has been entrusted with a prominent public function by the UK. The Fourth Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, makes no distinction between the prominent functions by the UK and third countries. However, the Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. We will be setting out this view in our consultation which will be published shortly.
This change should not prevent any Member of this House, or any other individual in this category, from gaining or maintaining a UK bank account. I regularly raise these issues with banks and the regulator and we encourage the banks to implement these measures domestically in the most risk-based manner possible.
