Help notes: Anti-Money Laundering
Can your organisation show how it meets anti-money laundering regulatory requirements?
This question is about having measures in place to prevent money laundering (exchanging money or assets that were obtained criminally for money or assets that are ‘clean’).
What is a ‘Yes’ for me?
This would normally mean registering for money laundering supervision with the HMRC, the FCA, the Law Society or another relevant supervisory authority or professional body (see list of supervisory bodies).
The following are examples of other anti-money laundering measures which may be appropriate for your organisation. Depending on the supervisory body, registration will normally need some of these to be in place.
- Customer Due Diligence: Checking customers are who they say they are. e.g. Confirming identity; Monitoring changing circumstances
- Internal controls and ongoing monitoring: e.g. Nominated responsible staff ensuring compliance checks; employee training; documenting and updating policies and procedures; including as part of normal business
- An anti-money laundering policy statement
- Keeping appropriate records
Does this question apply to me? Is this a regulatory requirement?
Only organisations where regulations apply need to answer this question. The regulations apply to some business sectors, including accountants, financial service businesses, estate agents and solicitors. (see Relevant Sectors below)
See a full list at www.gov.uk/guidance/money-laundering-regulations-who-needs-to-register#businesses-covered-by-the-regulations
For relevant organisations, registering for money laundering supervision is a legal requirement. Money laundering is a criminal offence in the UK.
Anti money laundering: relevant sectors
The regulations apply to some business sectors, including accountants, financial service businesses, estate agents and solicitors.
See a full list at www.gov.uk/guidance/money-laundering-regulations-who-needs-to-register#businesses-covered-by-the-regulations
Broadly the sectors to which the regulations apply are:
- Money service businesses (not supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)). A business is a money service business if it:
- acts as a bureau de change or currency exchange office
- transmits money, or any representation of money (just collecting and delivering money as a cash courier is not transmitting money)
- cashes cheques that are payable to your customers
- takes payments on telecommunications, digital and IT devices and acts as an intermediary between a payer and supplier
- provides a payment service for utility and other household bills
- High value dealers handling cash payments for goods totalling 10,000 euros or more on a single transaction or linked transactions
- Trust or company service providers, whose business is to:
- Form companies or other legal persons
- Provide details or arrangements for companies, partnerships or other legal persons
- Accountancy service providers eg. Auditors, accountants, tax advisors, bookkeeping
- Estate agency businesses
- Bill payment service providers
- Telecommunications, digital and IT payment service providers
- Art market participants buying or selling of works of art where the transaction value (or a series of linked transactions) is 10,000 euros or more
- Letting agency businesses renting property or land valued at the equivalent of 10,000 euros or more a month
List of supervisory bodies for anti money laundering
- HMRC (all businesses not supervised by another body in the list below)
- FCA
- Gambling Commission
- Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
- Association of Accounting Technicians
- Association of International Accountants
- Association of Taxation Technicians
- Chartered Institute of for Legal Executives
- Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
- Chartered Institute of Taxation
- Council for Licensed Conveyors
- Faculty of Advocates
- Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury
- General Council of the Bar
- General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland
- Insolvency Practitioners Association
- Institute of Certified Bookkeepers
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
- Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
- Institute of Financial Accountants
- Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers
- Law Society
- Law Society of Scotland
- Law Society of Northern Ireland
Some Money Services businesses need to be registered with both HMRC and FCA.
See government guidance at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/money-laundering-regulations-who-needs-to-register#businesses-covered-by-the-regulations
Next steps
Read the government guidance https://www.gov.uk/guidance/money-laundering-regulations-your-responsibilities
Register with a supervisory body (here HMRC): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-or-renew-your-money-laundering-supervision-with-hmrc
