SRA escalates £200million worth of money laundering suspicious activity to law enforcement authorities
It was reported in March 2021 that the SRA passed on matters of suspicious activity involving more than £200million to the National Crime Agency that occurred in the past year. There were 26 suspicious activity reports made to the National Crime Agency, and 266 matters were escalated to the SRA for review.
Sara Gwilliam the SRA money laundering reporting officer said that the key themes of the money laundering related activity that took place during the year were linked to residential property conveyancing, fraud, tax evasion and bogus investment schemes. These areas have always been of concern. Therefore, law firms need to have systems in place which prevent them from being a target for money launderers.
This is a reminder that it is essential for law firms to take preventative measures and avoid the risk of money laundering by making sure that firms have a robust approach to Anti Money Laundering which is in full compliance with the AML regulations and the SRA requirements. It is important that there are policies and procedures in place to ensure compliance. Anything short of full compliance puts a firm in breach and at risk not just from money launders using the firm to launder money, but the wider implications of an SRA investigation.
Compliance with the AML regulation is not as straightforward as it may first seem and more importantly the regulations and requirements change, and firms must keep pace with all requirements to remain compliant. The Strategic Partner has developed an approach to Anti Money Laundering that is bespoke to firms, recognises the work they do and the clients they service and delivers a proportionate but compliant strategy.
The Strategic Partners Anti Money Laundering services are aimed at providing firms with a robust process that ensures the firm complies with The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 and The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) regulations 2019.
Anti Money Laundering is included within our packaged services – Risk, Regulation and Compliance service including AML – click here for more information.
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For more information about how TSP can work with you can:
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We would be very happy to discuss your current approach to regulation and compliance and how our services will assist you in ensuring your firm is protected.