Complying with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended)

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) is one of the central pieces of money laundering law that applies in the UK. It came into force in 2003 and has been amended by several pieces of legislation, primarily by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) and by the Statutory Instrument 2007 No. 3398, the Terrorism Act 2000 & the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Amendment) regulations 2007.

Amongst other provisions, POCA established the Assets Recovery Agency (later merged into the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) by the Serious Crime Act 2007), set out rules for the processes of investigating and confiscating suspected criminal property, and, in Part 7, imposed certain duties on businesses within the Regulated sector regarding money laundering.

Part 7 of POCA begins by establishing three areas of activity that mean a person commits an offence:

• Concealing, disguising, converting or moving criminal property;


• Entering an arrangement that is known or believed to aid the acquisition, use or control of criminal property; and
• Acquiring, owning or using criminal property.

Conspiracy with others to achieve any of these offences, or failing to disclose information regarding these offences to an appropriate person, also mean that a person commits an offence. Penalties can include imprisonment for up to fourteen years, and the risk of lost reputation is also likely to be a significant fear for firms in the Regulated sector; these organisations, therefore, must guard against any chance of breaching the provisions of the Act either accidentally or negligently.

A firm in the Regulated sector will have a Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) to whom any person in the firm may report suspicions of criminal behaviour in a clients' activity, and who may themselves report to SOCA. On some occasions, the suspicious activity may be allowed to proceed by SOCA, which permission provides the firm with a defence against charges of money laundering offences, but disclosure is fundamental to this.

The Terrorism Act 2000 & Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Amendment) Regulations 2007 further developed the offence of 'tipping off' set out in POCA. It is an offence, under the amended section 333 of POCA, to alert the subject of a report to SOCA that such a report has been made. It is therefore advisable that any communication that relates to a disclosure or report, however indirectly, should be discussed with an MLRO first.

Compliance with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
The importance of POCA compliance cannot be overstated. By meeting its provisions, businesses protect themselves from involvement with criminal property and related offences, and contribute to the protection of the UK against certain criminal and terrorist activity.

Compliance with POCA , and staying up to date with its amendments, can also be complex. ML Solutions 4U provides accredited training to firms in the Regulated sector that helps them meet this often onerous obligation. Our courses can be tailored to your business needs, and we welcome contact from MLROs who wish to discuss the ways in which we can assist their firms in meeting their compliance obligations as well as contributing to their firms' continuing professional development training requirements.

For more information about our training services, or our assistance with meeting the obligations of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, please telephone an anti-money laundering advisor on 0845 402 0001, or complete our contact form and let us contact you at your convenience.

Money Laundering Information » Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and AML Training