Relatives and close associates (RCA)
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RCA stands for the relatives and close associates of a politically exposed person (PEP). EU law calls them "family members" and "persons known to be close associates", and requires firms to apply to them the same additional measures that apply to the PEP.
Also called: PEP family members and close associates.
Why it matters for PSPs and EMIs
Corrupt proceeds rarely sit in the PEP's own name. A spouse's company, a business partner's holding or an entity set up for the PEP's benefit are the more likely routes. For a payment institution, an RCA often appears as a beneficial owner or director of a merchant rather than as the account holder.
What the law says
Family members. AMLR Art. 2(1)(35): a spouse or registered or similar partner; a child and the child's spouse or partner; a parent; and, for heads of state, heads of government, ministers and deputy or assistant ministers (and equivalent Union or third-country functions), a sibling. Member States may extend the sibling category (Art. 2(5)).
Close associates. AMLR Art. 2(1)(36): a natural person known to have joint beneficial ownership of legal entities or arrangements, or any other close business relations, with a PEP; or a natural person who has sole beneficial ownership of an entity or arrangement known to have been set up for the de facto benefit of a PEP.
Same measures. AMLR Art. 46: the measures in Arts. 42 (senior management approval, source of wealth and funds, enhanced monitoring), 44 and 45 also apply to family members and close associates.
Guidance to come. AMLR Art. 42(2)(a): AMLA guidelines on the criteria for identifying persons known to be close associates, due by 10 July 2027.
Until 10 July 2027. Directive (EU) 2015/849, Art. 3(10) and (11) and Art. 23, as transposed nationally.
International standard. FATF Recommendation 12.
How ProofVolt handles it
Where the screening data identifies a person ProofVolt already screens — a director or beneficial owner, for example — as a relative or close associate of a PEP, ProofVolt handles that match as it handles a PEP match. ProofVolt does not itself research a PEP's family members or associates who have no other link to the customer.
Related
Sources
Informational only, not legal advice.