In early July, while many were enjoying some well-earned time away from their desk, HM Treasury approved the updated anti-money laundering (AML) guidance developed by the Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG) in early 2021.
The group, which is made up of both regulatory and representative bodies for legal services in the UK, including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and Law Society of Scotland, produced the guidance on the anti-money laundering regulations. Following the Treasury’s approval, this guidance now has full standing.
In practical terms, this means that when considering if an offence has been committed by a legal practitioner or practice, the guidance will carry the same weight as the regulations themselves.
So, what is in the guidance?
The guidance is built around 36 high-level compliance principles which should be the building blocks for a strong AML risk-control framework within a firm. The guidance document is over 200 pages long with a lot of information to digest, some of which will be familiar to you while some is new.
At Amiqus, we published a last year, which still remains relevant. However, one of the key changes is the requirement to have a policy and carry out checks on your “frontline AML staff”, as well as beneficial owners, officers and managers of the firm.
In addition to providing all AML/KYC check types required for your clients, Amiqus has achieved certification as part of the UK government’s Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework (UKDIATF). Amiqus is now a certified identity service provider (IDSP) for right to work checks across the UK, and DBS Criminal Record checks (in England and Wales). This means that we can help you comply with all requirements, including the checks on your clients, and those on relevant staff members.
with Amiqus and make sure you are still compliant with the updated AML guidance from LSAG.
This article was submitted to be published by Amiqus as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
