Money laundering and terrorist financing regulations – reminder alert
The Regulation of Practice Committee, which is the Law Society standing committee that polices compliance with the, Solicitors Accounts Regulations and anti-money legislation, wishes to remind all practitioners of the provisions of the , which came into force on 1 November 2016. A practice note was published on the regulations in the November 2016 Gazette.
Law Society inspections are conducted to ensure compliance with these regulations and the , as well as the Solicitors Acts and .
As part of the Society’s monitoring process, solicitors are required to demonstrate that they have policies and procedures in place for the prevention and detection of money-laundering and terrorist-financing offences.
Solicitors are reminded that failure to comply with the Solicitors (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2016 may result in one or more of the following courses of action:
- Requirement to take remedial action,
- Requirement to attend a meeting of the Regulation of Practice Committee to explain failure to comply,
- Referral to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
John Elliot, Registrar of Solicitors and Director of Regulation