ACCA is a Professional Body Supervisor (PBS) for anti-money laundering (AML) in the UK. We welcome the opportunity to provide views on the government’s proposals to improve the effectiveness of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs). Our response to this consultation has been informed by input obtained from our supervised population and discussions with other accountancy PBSs.
ACCA fully supports the development of an effective UK AML supervisory regime that provides confidence in the UK as a safe, transparent and compliant jurisdiction to conduct business in. We believe that a robust and effective framework to tackle economic crime will help improve and facilitate further commercial activity for businesses in the UK.
We are generally supportive of the proposed changes to the MLRs to ensure that the legislation remains proportionate and effective. For example, we welcome the proposals to update the MLRs so that financial thresholds are in pound sterling rather than euros, and the suggested proposals to strengthen information sharing.
However, we have identified some areas of concern and these are highlighted in our responses to the questions raised where appropriate. In particular, we have concerns about the proposal to change the wording in regulation 33(1)(f) from ‘complex’ to ‘unusually complex’ as we believe this will create uncertainty and inconsistency of application. We also have concerns about the implications of making the list of requirements for high-risk third countries non-mandatory, and the potential consequence that firms may not conduct appropriate checks because there is no mandatory requirement.
We also note that changes to UK company law relating to identity verification are being introduced. ACCA supports the strengthening of the integrity of the Companies House register and the benefits this will bring. However, we suggest that alignment of the identity requirements across all the regulations is essential, as differences in the statutory requirements could result in confusion and additional cost and reduce the effectiveness of regulatory aims.
Finally, we are disappointed that HMT is yet to publish the outcome to the public consultation on the Reform of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Supervisory Regime, despite committing to do so by the end of March 2024. The continued uncertainty is unwelcome at a time when stability and clarity is needed to support the fight against economic crime.
To read the response in full, please download the consultation response document on this page.