Politically Exposed Person (PEP) Weekly Digest – Volume 53

Introducing the 53rd 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 June 06, 2024 and June 30, 2024. These elections hold significant importance, as they will determine the direction and governance of each respective country’s future.

One noteworthy event has occurred in Canada, there’s been another shake-up in Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok’s government, after the territory’s justice minister resigned from cabinet less than three months after her appointment. In a news release, Akeeagok said Tununiq MLA Karen Nutarak resigned from cabinet “due to personal and family reasons.” Nutarak was sworn into cabinet in March, and named justice minister as well as minister of labour, and minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College and the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal. She said at the time that she was excited to take on the role, and that she saw it as “a good opportunity to learn the operations of the government.” David Akeeagok, the minister of economic development and transportation, has now been named justice minister, as well as labour minister and minister responsible for the Human Rights Tribunal. Pamela Hakongak Gross, the deputy premier and education minister, is now also the minister of human resources and minister responsible for the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission. Margaret Nakashuk, the minister for family services and several other portfolios, is now also the minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College.

Shifting our focus to Gibraltar, Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst has been sworn in as Gibraltar’s new Governor. Sir Ben is the first Governor of Gibraltar to be appointed by King Charles III. At a ceremony in Parliament, he quipped the previous five Governors were all said to have arrived at a critical time for Gibraltar. Sir Ben said this reflected the Rock’s strategic importance. He said the King had personally told him to pass on his best wishes to the people of Gibraltar and to thank them for their loyalty.

In Russia, Oleg Khorokhordin announced Tuesday that he was stepping down as governor of the Siberian republic of Altai, making him the third regional head to resign within a week as the country prepares for regional elections in September. “I’m resigning from the post of head of the Altai Republic in connection with the transition to a new workplace,” Khorokhordin wrote on Telegram without disclosing his future plans. Elected to a five-year term in 2019, Khorokhordin was reported to be next in line after the back-to-back resignations of the governors of the Samara region and Khanty-Mansi autonomous district last week. The republic of Altai and Khanty-Mansi autonomous district are among dozens of Russian regions where gubernatorial elections are scheduled for this coming September. The Samara region, which held an election last year, will hold snap elections following the resignation of its governor.

In the realm of regulatory affairs, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the number of penalties imposed on financial institutions by 88 per cent over the past three years (from 2021 to January this year), with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations being the most common, according to a report by The Economic Times. The central bank has collected Rs 78.6 crore from these penalties over three years, including 261 penalties in 2023 alone, as reported by Signzy, a fintech firm specialising in regulatory compliance for institutions. KYC and AML regulations require companies to effectively allocate resources to detect potential money laundering activities within their operations. Urban and rural co-operative banks have the highest number of KYC and AML violations, with urban co-operative banks paying Rs 13.5 crore and rural co-operative banks paying Rs 20.13 crore from 2021 to January this year.

Shifting our attention to legal advancements, a Federal Judge in Washington, D.C., at a hearing Thursday ordered former Trump White House aide Steve Bannon to report to jail by July 1 to begin serving a four-month sentence for his criminal contempt of Congress conviction. The order by Judge Carl Nichols came three weeks after federal prosecutors urged him to lift a stay on Bannon’s sentence pending an appeal of his conviction for failing to comply with a subpoena from a House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. A federal appeals court panel in a unanimous ruling on May 10 upheld Bannon’s conviction in the case. At Thursday’s hearing, Bannon’s lawyer David Schoen reacted emotionally to Nichols’ order. “One thing you have to learn as a lawyer is that when the judge has made his decision, you don’t stand up and start yelling,” Nichols said, according to NBC News. “I’ve had enough,” the judge said as Schoen continued talking. The lawyer replied, “I’m not yelling.” “You’re sending a man to prison who thought he was complying with the law, we don’t do that in my system,” said Schoen, who argued that Nichols’ ruling was “contrary to our system of justice.”