What is Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD)?
Mehmood Rajoka10 min readUpdated May 2026
In brief: Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) is additional scrutiny required for high-risk clients — those with PEP connections, high-risk jurisdiction exposure, or complex ownership structures — going beyond Standard CDD to investigate source of funds and wealth.
Key points
- EDD applies to PEPs, high-risk jurisdictions, and complex structures
- Requires source of funds and source of wealth investigation
- Senior management approval required before proceeding
- All EDD decisions must be fully documented
- Five-year retention applies to EDD records
When EDD applies, what it involves, PEPs and high-risk clients, and how to evidence it for HMRC.