Politically Exposed Person (PEP) Weekly Digest – Volume 54

Introducing the 54th 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 Israel, the Israeli politician and former military chief Benny Gantz has followed through on a threat to resign from Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet, leaving the prime minister more reliant than ever on far-right elements of his coalition government. Gantz, a major Netanyahu rival, former defence minister and leader of the centre-right National Unity party, joined the three-man war cabinet as a minister without portfolio in the aftermath of Hamas’s 7 October attack, a move he said was for the sake of the country’s unity. But as Israel’s war effort in Gaza dragged on, disagreements over strategy and how best to bring the 250 Israeli hostages home spilled into the open, culminating in Gantz accusing the prime minister of pushing strategic considerations such as a hostage deal aside for his own political survival. Last month, he gave Netanyahu an ultimatum of 8 June to present concrete “day after” plans for the Gaza Strip.

Shifting our focus to South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Maropene Ramokgopa to act as Sports, Arts and Culture Minister following Zizi Kodwa’s resignation. Ramokgopa is currently the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya on Friday said Ramaphosa had received the resignation letter on Wednesday after Kodwa was formally charged with corruption in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s court. Magwenya said: “President Ramaphosa accepted Minister Kodwa’s resignation and thanked Mr Kodwa for his service to the nation as Deputy Minister of State Security from 2019 to 2023, and Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture from March 2023. “President Ramaphosa has appointed Minister Maropene Ramokgopa to act as Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture until a permanent appointment is made under the new seventh administration.”

In Vietnam, Member of the Politburo and State President General To Lam chaired a ceremony to announce and hand over a decision on the appointment of Senior Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang as Minister of Public Security, on the afternoon of June 6th, at the Presidential Palace. Previously on the same afternoon, at the 7th plenary session of the 15th National Assembly (NA), the NA adopted a resolution approving the Prime Minister’s proposal to appoint Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang as new Minister of Public Security, following the vote with 468 in favour out of the 469 deputies present at the session. Addressing the ceremony, President To Lam extended his congratulations to newly-appointed Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang, saying the appointment demonstrated the trust of the Party, the State and people in Minister Luong Tam Quang.

In the realm of regulatory affairs, FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) Director Andrea Gacki has told small businesses that beneficial ownership reporting requirements are focused on catching criminals and will not be used as a ‘gotcha’ to catch companies out.

Shifting our attention to legal advancements, Kuwait’s Cassation Court has sentenced former Minister Mubarak Al-Aro, former Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs Abdulaziz Shuaib, the former head of the Federation of Associations, and a Gulf merchant to seven years in prison. This ruling comes as part of a case involving the misuse of a tender for artificial intelligence in cooperative societies’ goods. In November last year, the Court of Ministers found Al-Aro, Shuaib, former director of the Federation of Associations Abdulaziz Asad, and a company owner guilty. Each was sentenced to seven years in prison with hard labor, along with dismissal from their positions, for benefiting from a contract signed with the company. On May 2, Kuwait’s Court of Cassation rejected Al-Aro’s appeal and his request for release. The court ordered his arrest, along with former MP Mubarak Zaid Al-Aro Al-Mutairi, upon his return to Kuwait. Earlier, on April 28, the Kuwaiti Court of Appeals overturned a two-year prison sentence against Al-Aro and his brother for vote-buying in the 2022 parliamentary elections. The lower court had initially sentenced Al-Aro to two years in prison and two of his campaign workers to one year. Two other defendants were fined 2,000 dinars each.