Politically Exposed Person (PEP) Weekly Digest – Volume 55

Introducing the 55th 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 Greece, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis appointed a new development minister and replaced his labor minister in a cabinet reshuffle aimed at helping Greece deal with a high cost of living. Takis Theodorikakos was named development minister, while Niki Kerameus took the labor ministry’s portfolio. Nikos Panagiotopoulos was assigned the migration portfolio, while Theodoros Livanios was appointed interior minister. The rural development portfolio was handed to Kostas Tsiaras. Mitsotakis kept his finance minister Kostis Hatzidakis unchanged. Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party, which has led Greece since 2019, came first in Sunday’s EU election with 28.3% of the vote but missed a 33% target Mitsotakis had set during his pre-election campaign and was well below the 40% his party received in a June 2023 national election. Mitsotakis ruled out a snap election, saying that he would move ahead with corrective moves to show Greek “people that we have taken their message into account.”.

Shifting our focus to Haiti, Transitional council appointed a new Cabinet, marking the final step in rebuilding the government that will now lead a country under siege by gangs. Government spokeswoman Kettia Marcellus confirmed the existence of the new Cabinet and its ministers to the Associated Press. Carlos Hercules, the attorney for Prime Minister Garry Conille, was appointed as minister of justice and public security. Conille himself will be interior minister. Jean Marc Berthier Antoine will be defence minister. As gangs controls at least 80 percent of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the country is preparing for the UN-backed deployment of a police force from Kenya expected in the coming weeks. More than 2,500 people were killed or injured in the first three months of the year and more than half a million others were displaced. Co-ordinated attacks by gangs forced former Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign and his Cabinet was dissolved. Gunmen took control of police stations, opened fire on the main international airport and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons. Conille has pledged to crack down on the violence. Dominique Dupuy, a UNESCO ambassador who was once a member of the transitional council will be foreign affairs minister. Others in the new Cabinet include Ketleen Florestal, minister of economy and finance. Antoine Augustin will be the minister for education.

In India, on June 11, the day he was chosen by his party as the next Chief Minister of Odisha, Mohan Charan Majhi spent over two-and-a-half hours near a mortuary, comforting the grieving family of his personal assistant who had died in a road accident earlier that day. Mr. Majhi stayed by their side until the post-mortem was completed. Mr. Majhi knew that he was a front-runner for the top job. BJP central observers were already in the State. But he did not let his aspirations get the better of his values. Before finally leaving for the BJP’s party office, he made sure that the family members of his associate did not have to face any hassle. This approach towards service helped him win over the trust of both the voters and his party colleagues.

In the realm of regulatory affairs, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority on Thursday disclosed the arrest of two people in London suspected of running an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange that handled more than £1 billion over an unspecified period. Since January 2021, digital assets platforms seeking to serve British customers are required to register with the FCA for anti-money laundering purposes. The regulator has granted authorization to 44 cryptocurrency companies to date, and reports suggest that firms are generally finding it difficult to satisfy the FCA’s compliance requirements.

Shifting our attention to legal advancements, the Jakarta Corruption Court has sentenced former Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) member Achsanul Qosasi to 2.5 years behind bars. Achsanul allegedly received bribes during an audit for a 4G base transceiver station (BTS) infrastructure project conducted in 2021. He was found to have received US$2.6 million from PT Multimedia Berdikari Sejahtera director Windi Purnama. However, he returned the bribe, which played a mitigating role in this sentence, according to presiding judge Fahzal Hendri. The money was from PT Multimedia Berdikari Sejahtera president director Galumbang Menak Simanjuntak, based on direction from Telecommunication and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) president director Anang Achmad Latif.