What does the Companies House reform on ID verification mean for accountants?
When The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill became law last year, it proved to be momentous for Companies House, …
Insight
Recently, the UK government announced a full asset freeze against a person they believed to be involved in terrorist activity.
The individual, named as Brian Sheridan (formerly Armagh), is suspected of facilitating and encouraging terrorism, associating with the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Additionally, Sheridan was suspected of providing, or assisting, others in the provision of financial services or making funds or resources available to the New IRA.
In doing so, Sheridan breached Regulation 5 of the Counter-Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which enables HM Treasury to implement a full asset freeze against someone. This makes it illegal for any UK individual or entity to establish or maintain a financial relationship with them, or any of their companies, without a license given by the Treasury.
From the 3rd of December, all funds and economic resources in the UK that are held or controlled by Sheridan are frozen. On the freeze, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Tulip Siddiq, said: “This action is the first use of the Treasury-led domestic counter terrorism financial sanctions regime targeting Northern Ireland-related terrorism”.
Siddiq continued to explain how this action reflects our government’s commitment to uphold the integrity of the UK economy, to protect the people of Northern Ireland, and uphold the Good Friday Agreement to encourage enhanced national security for all UK citizens.
Why does this matter?
The implementation of these sanctions against an individual for the first time under legislation is a direct reflection of how the financial services market is becoming more tightly regulated. With money laundering and financial crime still rife, and therefore posing a threat to the sector, the FCA and the government are implementing much stricter AML measures, and therefore highlighting the importance of having robust AML solutions with businesses in the UK.
For businesses operating in the financial services sector, they should be heeding this action as a warning to ensure their compliance processes are up to scratch, and that they are conducting in-depth KYC or KYB checks to effectively validate and verify customer identity, or business legitimacy if considering partnering with other entities.
This news also serves as a reminder for businesses to be conducting PEP and sanctions monitoring on existing and potential clients, to accurately assess risk, to ensure the right level of checks are conducted. This helps to achieve perpetual compliance.
Looking to strengthen your compliance measures? We’re here to help.
With a multitude of solutions to choose from, we can help you to build a bespoke, robust AML compliance programme to ensure you’re staying on the right side of the law. Plus, as all our solutions are automated, you don’t have to sacrifice efficiency in the name of more detailed compliance checks—it’s a win-win.
Want to find out more? Get in touch with our team of experts or browse our compliance solutions for the financial services sector.
Author
Richard Devine
Solutions Consultant
