Back

HMRC Getting Tough on AML Procedures

The New Year is bringing increased vigour to HMRC’s pursuit of Estate Agents on the wrong side of AML regulations.

Speaking to Business Insider Magazine, Mark Hayward, the Chief Executive of the NAEA Propertymark, said, ‘All estate agents must be registered with HMRC for anti-money laundering purposes and are required to adhere to its systems and procedures. HMRC are making spot and random checks among agents, and failure to comply with anti-money laundering regulations will result in substantial fines.’

The government is launching a new watchdog to strengthen the defences against money laundering and terrorist financing. The Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) will work with all the UK’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervisors to ensure organisations meet the high standards set out in the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, and has powers to investigate and penalise those that do not.

The new watchdog is likely to urge regulators of the other sectors, such as the legal and accountancy professions, to follow HMRC’s lead in levying huge fines on those that don’t have their procedures and AML checks.

Naming and shaming those that have been fined is widely being reported as the next step in ensuring firms comply adding reputational damage to the financial burden of a substantial fine.



KYB vs KYC understanding the difference

Why both are essential for effective compliance and risk management The terms KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYB (Know Your …

Insight

Reporting that strengthens financial integrity by turning AML intelligence into action

Reporting represents the point at which insight becomes accountability. By the time an organisation submits a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR), …

Insight

From alerts to action by connecting monitoring, analytics and case management

Most AML teams have no shortage of alerts. The challenge is determining which alerts matter, which require investigation and how …

Insight