Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Sanctions (Mar24)

1 March 2024 marked 20 years of law firms and a number of other professional firms being in the regulated...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) and Sanctions (Jan24)

The decision in XTX Markets Technologies Limited v Mazars (District Judge Avant, Central London County Court, unreported, 1 August 2023)...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) and Sanctions (Nov23)

Much has already been written elsewhere about Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which received the Royal As-sent on...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) (Sep23)

New Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) Portal The National Crime Agency has announced the new SAR portal will go live on...

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AML and financial sanctions (Jul23)

New and updated guidance since our May 2023 Risk Update includes RUSI’s Institutional Proliferation Finance Risk Assessment Guide, National Crime...

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Defence Against Money Laundering (DAML) (May23)

The OPBAS report also comments that a much higher proportion of DAML (consent) Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) submitted by the...

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OPBAS supervision report (May23)

OPBAS has also published a report on supervision of PBSs, including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The report noted that...

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Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) services (May23)

TCSP services have been addressed in updated guidance from HM Revenue & Customs and a publication by the Office for...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) (May23)

Developments since our March 2023 Risk Update, including legislation, further guidance, reports and a Court of Appeal decision, demonstrate –...

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Sanctions (Mar23)

The Office for the Implementation of Financial Sanctions (OFSI) has published updated guidance, OFSI enforcement and monetary penalties for breaches...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) (Mar23)

Extensive guidance and publications have been produced since our January Risk Update. These include guidance on Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)...

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Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Sanctions (Jan23)

The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (High-Risk Countries) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations added Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) (Nov22)

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has published its AML annual report.  The report identifies several common areas of weakness which...

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Register of overseas entities (ROE): Law Society warning (Sep22)

The ROE was introduced under the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 on 1 August 2022. The ROE requires...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) Firmwide Risk Assessments: Two risks to note (Sep22)

The first of these is the obvious one – any firm doing business in the regulated sector under The Money...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) and Sanctions (Jul22)

A draft of The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 has been published. They will require...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) and Sanctions (May22)

Since our March 2022 Risk Update, there has been much activity in relation to Ukraine and Russia with many names...

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Anti-money laundering (Mar22)

The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/137) amend the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) (Jan22)

There have been several developments since our November 2021 Risk Update, including – The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment)...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) (Nov21)

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is expanding its programme of visits to law firms over the next year. These include...

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Cryptoassets – what are the risks for law firms? (Nov21)

Law firms may be wary of the risks of cryptoassets, if only from fear of the unknown. Their insurers may...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) (Sep21)

The Home office has published a circular: Money laundering: the confidentiality and sensitivity of suspicious activity reports (SARs) in the...

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Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Sanctions (Jul 21)

We continue to pick up a variety of points to note when carrying out independent audits. Note para- graph 6.2...

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Anti-money laundering (AML), independent audits, and financial sanctions (May21)

AML developments continue apace, including updated Tax Adviser guidance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Part 2 of the Legal...

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Environmental risks (Mar21)

Environmental risks have already hit major law firms themselves with, for example, flooding of offices, and firms in some parts...

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Anti-Money Laundering (AML) (Mar21)

Firms will need to review their Practice Wide Risk Assessments following publication of the draft Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG)...

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Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Sanctions (Jan21)

Firms which fall within the changed, wider definition to ‘tax advisers’ need to notify the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) before...

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Anti-Money Laundering (AML) (Nov20)

We are continuing to audit some of the largest UK and US law firms (remotely due to pandemic restrictions) under...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) Sep20

Coronavirus has not prevented the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) from continuing its    review of law firms, in a number of...

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Anti Money Laundering (AML) (Jul 2020)

The SRA Draft Business Plan and Budget, November 2020 to October 2021 proposes a 20 per cent increase on spending...

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Anti Money Laundering (May 2020)

With the continuing attention dedicated to large firms’ AML compliance (including regulatory action) by the SRA, itself under supervision by...

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Anti money Laundering (AML) (Risk Update March 2020)

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is pressing larger firms on the issue of independent audit under regulation 21 of The...

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Anti-Money Laundering (AML) (Jan20)

We have advised many firms who were concerned about the adequacy of their risk assessments required by regulation 18 of...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) and financial crime (Jan18)

Firms conducting business in the regulated sector under The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) (Mar18)

The anti-money laundering (AML) guidance produced by the legal sector AML supervisors, including the Law Society, has now received the...

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Anti-Money Laundering – Westminster’s new mood (May18)

It may be the poisoning of the Skripals (coming on top of the Litvinenko case and other suspicious deaths), or...

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Anti-money laundering (AML) (Jul18)

The first anniversary of The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 passed...

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AML (Sep18)

An article in The Sunday Times (September 9, 2018) noted that “A key part of the government’s response to the...

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Anti-money laundering (Dec18)

Regulation 41 of The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 imposes requirements,...

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Anti Money Laundering (Jan 19)

While the widely-reported Mutual Evaluation Report of the UK by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was complimentary about the...

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Anti-Money Laundering: The crackdown

It is now 30 years since the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was established in Paris to combat money laundering. ...

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“There will be many, many more prosecutions in relation to AML”

These were the concluding words of Paul Philip, Chief Executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in his opening speech...

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Anti-Money Laundering (AML) July 19

We commented in our May 2019 Risk Update on the thematic review by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), 26 of...

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Anti Money Laundering

We have already predicted further regulatory action (Risk Update, September 2018), with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) under scrutiny from...

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Cyber

The Association of British Insurers has reported that 99% of claims made (207) on ABI-member cyber insurance policies in 2018...

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