Article 26
1. For the purposes of this Section, ‘third parties’ means obliged entities listed in Article 2, the member organisations or federations of those obliged entities, or other institutions or persons situated in a Member State or third country that: (a) apply customer due diligence requirements and record-keeping requirements that are consistent with those laid down in this Directive; and (b) have their compliance with the requirements of this Directive supervised in a manner consistent with Section 2 of Chapter VI. 2. Member States shall prohibit obliged entities from relying on third parties established in high-risk third countries. Member States may exempt branches and majority-owned subsidiaries of obliged entities established in the Union from that prohibition where those branches and majority-owned subsidiaries fully comply with the group-wide policies and procedures in accordance with Article 45.