The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has fined the conveyancing firm, Ferguson Bricknell Solicitors, £20,000 ($24,400) for falling short of its anti-money laundering (AML) obligations. The firm also had to pay £1,350 for the cost of the SRA probe. The fine was issued under a regulatory settlement agreement following an investigation by the SRA.
The investigation found that the firm did not have a compliant, practice-wide, anti-money laundering (AML) risk assessment in place until July 29, 2022, and also failed to fully assess its product/services risks, specifically those associated with conveyancing and controlling client money, which accounted for 75% of its fee income. The risks associated with conveyancing should have been addressed in the assessment provided when the investigation began.
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