HMRC ups laundering monitoring
Accountants outside the main professional bodies are to be subject to HM Revenue & Customs monitoring, under a further crackdown on money laundering and terrorist financing
New regulations implementing the Third EU Money Laundering Directive,
published by economic secretary to the treasury Ed Balls, also extends
compliance supervision to trust and company service providers, estate agents,
consumer credit providers and financial services providers.
Members of the AAT, ATT and CIoT will be covered by the new the new rules.
There will be a new requirement for regulated firms to conduct enhanced due
diligence in respect of customers and circumstances considered to pose a higher
risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.
Balls claimed in a written statement to Parliament that the regulations are
in line with the three key principles that underline money laundering and
counter-terrorist finance strategy, ‘effectiveness, proportionality and
engagement both domestically and with international partners’.