Tag: anti-money laundering
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HMRC to publish breakdown of where estate agents received nearly £2 million in AML fines
HMRC is on the verge of publishing a breakdown of where estate agents have received financial penalties for breaching anti-money laundering (AML) regulations after issuing nearly £2 million in fines to the sector. Last month HMRC said that over 254 estate agency businesses had been fined a total of over £1.6m for failing to register, ... -
AML warning as hundreds of agents hit with HMRC fine…
An anti-money laundering (AML) expert has queried why there is a reluctance among estate agents to accept and follow AML responsibilities. It comes as HMRC figures showed more than 200 estate agency businesses were fined for anti-money laundering (AML) failures between April and September 2023. The latest data from HMRC shows ... -
Agents failing to do AML checks on business contacts …
Regulated firms, particularly estate agents, who take on new business clients are leaving themselves exposed to serious red flags by not completing critical verification checks, new survey data has uncovered. Research by anti-money laundering (AML) platform SmartSearch found 59% of regulated firms such as solicitors and estate agents fail to carry out checks ... -
Just one estate agent has signed up to verify oversea…
Just one estate agency has signed up to become a UK-regulated agent to verify overseas entities for property ownership. The Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) came into force on 1 August 2022, with entities given a six-month transitional period. Held by Companies House, the register requires overseas entities that own land ... -
Just three in 10 estate agents are switched on to open banking for AML reasons
Just three in 10 estate agents use open banking to verify their clients’ funds – despite it being one of the most secure ways to provide secure third-party access to financial data through an API (application programming interface). The Proceeds of Crime Act requires regulated firms to submit a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) to the ...