A leading law firm was fined £232,500 by the SRA, and ordered to pay the SRA’s investigation costs of £50,000 for breaching the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. What does this mean for AML compliance, and what lessons can be learned for compliance?
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The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act came into force on 15 March 2022. This act was passed in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This law represents a significant shift in disclosure requirements for foreign companies who hold property interests in the UK, along with significant changes to sanctions law, including ‘strict liability’ for sanctions breaches.
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, crystalised the role of anti-money laundering in the fight against Russian aggression. Sanctions compliance may have been at the forefront of international efforts to constrain the Russian economy, but money laundering is the vital, long-term compliance programme to ensure those sanctions stick.
Efforts by sanctioned entities or individuals to circumvent legal restrictions or find other ways to use frozen assets, shifts from the realm of sanctions to money laundering. Breaching sanctions is an offence, and thus any funds or economic resources which are a result of breached sanctions become money laundering.
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A series of amendments to the UK Money Laundering Regulations 2017 came into force 1 September 2022. The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 include an obligation for regulated entities to identify, assess and mitigate the risk of proliferation financing (PF). We have further detailed guidance on these amendments here.
Regulated entities have the flexibility to create a new risk assessment on PF, or to incorporate proliferation financing into their existing money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments.
The Treasury will conduct a national risk assessment in relation to proliferation financing, and regulated persons will also be required to take appropriate steps to identify and assess the risks to which their business is subject, and to establish and maintain policies, controls and procedures to mitigate and manage these effectively.
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In July 2021, HM Treasury launched a new AML consultation entitled ‘Amendments to the Money Laundering Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017’. This consultation outlined ways in which the government intended to amend the UK’s money laundering regulations (MLRs) with several time-sensitive updates. The planned updates are required to ensure that the UK continues to meet international AML standards, whilst also clarifying how the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) regime works.
The changes to the MLRs have been made through draft secondary legislation entitled ‘the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022’. Most of the measures in this SI will come into force on 1 September 2022, subject to parliamentary approval
In this series of blog posts, we take a closer look at what these changes will mean for anti-money laundering compliance.
Continue reading
In July 2021, HM Treasury launched a new AML consultation entitled ‘Amendments to the Money Laundering Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017’. This consultation outlined ways in which the government intended to amend the UK’s money laundering regulations (MLRs) with several time-sensitive updates. The planned updates are required to ensure that the UK continues to meet international AML standards, whilst also clarifying how the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) regime works.
The changes to the MLRs have been made through draft secondary legislation entitled ‘the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022’. Most of the measures in this SI will come into force on 1 September 2022, subject to parliamentary approval
In this series of blog posts, we take a closer look at what these changes will mean for anti-money laundering compliance.
Continue reading
The UK periodically updates its list of high-risk countries or jurisdictions for AML, meaning that regulated businesses must apply enhanced customer due diligence measures and enhanced ongoing monitoring in any business relationship with a person in any of these jurisdictions. A high-risk third country is defined for the purposes of the MLRs as a country specified in Schedule 3ZA.
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In July 2021, HM Treasury launched a new AML consultation entitled ‘Amendments to the Money Laundering Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017’. This consultation outlined ways in which the government intended to amend the UK’s money laundering regulations (MLRs) with several time-sensitive updates. The planned updates are required to ensure that the UK continues to meet international AML standards, whilst also clarifying how the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) regime works.
The changes to the MLRs have been made through draft secondary legislation entitled ‘the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022’. Most of the measures in this SI will come into force on 1 September 2022, subject to parliamentary approval
In this series of blog posts, we take a closer look at what these changes will mean for anti-money laundering compliance.
Continue readingAs a busy practitioner, it can be hard to keep up with the latest guidance from the SRA. VinciWorks and Compliance Office are pleased to save you time by bringing you some important updates from the SRA that are important to be aware of.
The SRA has consulted on its 2022/23 Business Plan. This covers their planned activities for the year, how they plan to allocate their budget and what that will mean for the practising certificate fee as well as Compensation Fund contributions. It’s a useful read to get an idea of what’s in store for the coming year.
“Digital identity technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and if used properly [it] can be a good way of mitigating the risks of money laundering, fraud and identity theft. Technology is an increasingly important tool in the fight against financial crime.”
This is the view of Colette Best, Director of AML at the SRA, in a recent joint statement from Lawtech UK and the Regulatory Response Unit in support of digital identity technology in the legal sector. Remember that the costs of such digital checks can be passed onto your clients as long as this cost is clearly stated in your terms and conditions.
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In July 2021, HM Treasury launched a new AML consultation entitled ‘Amendments to the Money Laundering Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017’. This consultation outlined ways in which the government intended to amend the UK’s money laundering regulations (MLRs) with several time-sensitive updates. The planned updates are required to ensure that the UK continues to meet international AML standards, whilst also clarifying how the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) regime works.
The changes to the MLRs have been made through draft secondary legislation entitled ‘the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022’. Most of the measures in this SI will come into force on 1 September 2022, subject to parliamentary approval
In this series of blog posts, we take a closer look at what these changes will mean for anti-money laundering compliance.
Continue reading