Guide to the Money Laundering Regulations 2017

The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (the regulations), which transpose the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive into UK law, were laid before parliament on 22 June and commenced on 26 June. The Fourth Directive was finalised in June 2015 and a draft version of the regulations was released in March 2017. These regulations were only put in front of parliament one working day prior to commencement (which broke the '21 day rule' for statutory instruments). As results, many companies had little time in which to prepare for the new regulations, while the supervisory authorities only had a short window in which to update their anti-money laundering (AML) guidance. The Legal Sector Affinity Group, which represents the legal sector AML supervisors and includes the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), has informed HM Treasury that they intend to take sensible and pragmatic approach to AML supervision. With connection to the commencement of the new regulations and by that allowed the legal profession a period of time to adapt to the new requirements. The Legal Sector Affinity Group is also producing a new, single piece of AML guidance based on the Law Society's AML practice note to apply across the entire legal sector. One can read more about the current status of the AML guidance and the Legal Sector Affinity Group's approach to supervision in the practice note. Regulations stipulate that business in sectors must register with a supervisory body to comply with regulations, including: - Financial and credit businesses - Independent legal professionals - Accountants, tax advisers, auditors and insolvency practitioners - Trust and company service providers - Estate agents - Casinos Click here for Money Laundering Awareness MLA Online CPD Accredited Course & Certificate