Anti money laundering news 15/08/2008 Money Laundering Regulations 2007 unofficial grace period over

Financial website Accounting Web declared this week that any grace period a company may have been allowed regarding the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 is well and truly over, with a further warning that it would only ever have been unofficial.

Treasury records suggest that, of the approximately 100,000 regulated businesses, including solicitors and accountants, that are now required to achieve full compliance with the regulations, there are fears that some may still not be doing so.

The two main reasons quoted for this are that some organisations may not be aware that the updated anti-money laundering rules apply to them, or that the credit crunch is squeezing finances to the point where there are insufficient resources to cover the compliance activity.

However, neither reason is likely to be a good enough excuse should an investigation arise resulting from a failure to comply. Disciplinary action, civil penalties, fines or even imprisonment may result from non-compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

The risks are huge. For any regulated organisation that has not begun appropriate training, now is the time to do something.

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