New Government Strategy for Tackling Money Laundering
The UK Government has published its Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Strategy 2026 to 2029. Its aim is simple - to make it harder for criminals to hide and use money gained from crimes committed.
The government is investing £550 million in the strategy over the next three years. It is built around three key objectives: -
Target - focus efforts where the risk is highest, rather than on low-risk activity.
Integrate - help government organisations share information more effectively.
Empower - give those dealing with law enforcement better tools, skills and powers.
HMRC issued over £1.6M in fines to Estate Agents
HMRC has announced (28 March 2024) that 254 estate agency businesses have been fined a total of over £1.6m for failing to register, or re-register with them for Anti Money Laundering (AML). The fines range from £1,500 to over £50,000.
HMRC have published a follow up list outlining where estate agents have received financial penalties for breaches of the legislation. These will include an absence of firm-wide documentation, incomplete or incorrect Customer Due Diligence (CDD) within the required timeframe and a lack of recognition of specific risks such as the value of property, High Risk Jurisdictions, Politically Exposed Persons (PEP’s), Companies, Trusts and Sanctions.