Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Review

The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017) applies to anyone who, in the course of business in the UK, acts as:

  • An external accountant
  • An insolvency practitioner
  • An independent legal professional providing conveyancing, client account or trust and company formation services
  • An estate agent
  • A trust or company services provider
  • A credit or financial institution
  • A high value dealer

MLR 2017 requires a business to establish and maintain suitable anti-money laundering (AML) policies, controls and procedures and monitor its compliance with MLR 2017. 

A money laundering compliance review is the best way of ensuring your business is implementing the correct procedures to comply with MLR 2017 and check whether your procedures are being followed.

As part of the compliance review we will review your current policies and procedures, identify areas of weakness and provide recommendations for improvement. We will check to ensure there is evidence of adequate money laundering training for all staff and test the adequacy of identification for new clients.

We will also review your written risk assessment and provide guidance where necessary. Businesses are required to maintain a written risk assessment, considering risk factors such as the type of products or services they provide to clients, the clients risk profile, where the clients are based and the nature of delivery of the products or service. Demonstrating that your business has assessed the risk of it being used for money laundering and terrorist activity is at the heart of MLR 2017. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and ICAEW will ask to see a businesses' written risk assessment as part of their monitoring reviews making it a critical area to assess correctly and document fully.