OFT warns of deadline for anti-money laundering registration

03/10 19 January 2010

Estate agents and certain consumer credit lenders must register under anti-money laundering regulations before 31 January 2010 to avoid breaking the law, the OFT warned today.

Carrying on business having failed to do so could result in the imposition of a fine by the OFT, a prison sentence, or both.

Money laundering controls help prevent legitimate businesses being used to launder money, which is where cash or assets obtained by criminal activities are exchanged for clean money or assets with no obvious link to their criminal origins.

John Parker, OFT Director of Anti Money Laundering, said:

'The consequences for estate agents and consumer credit financial institutions of not registering under anti-money laundering regulations are severe. It is important that businesses register immediately to avoid breaking the law.'

NOTES

1. The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 came into force on 15 December 2007. They implement the Third Anti Money Laundering Directive.

2. The OFT supervises two sectors, which must register before the end of this month:

Estate agents, which includes residential and commercial estate agencies, relocation agents and property finding services, and

Consumer Credit Financial Institutions (CCFIs), which are organisations involved in consumer credit lending activity not authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) or supervised by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as a money service business.

3. Businesses need to download the form, available from the AML section of this website, print it out and send a signed copy to the address provided. The fee is £115 for each business premises (capped at 20 premises). The OFT has produced guidance on completion of the registration form. This is also available from the AML section of this website. Businesses seeking further advice can email amld3@oft.gsi.gov.uk or ring our help line on 020-7211-8200.

4. Since the OFT launched the registration scheme on 31 July 2009 it has sent three mailings to businesses in the supervised sectors reminding them of the need to register.

5. The Regulations require supervised businesses to:

put in place policies and procedures in order to anticipate and prevent money laundering or terrorist financing
train staff in those procedures and in the law relating to money laundering and terrorist financing
appoint a nominated officer or money laundering reporting officer to make suspicious activity reports to SOCA
put in place procedures to identify customers and verify their identity before entering into a business relationship or transaction - known as customer due diligence measures
keep records obtained in establishing customers' identity and of business relationships for five years.

Back to: Press releases

Navigate the OFT website:

News and updates

What was new in...

Feedback

Press releases 2010 -