Accountants must comply with a plethora of anti money laundering and know your customer requirements, but there are ways to improve the process, says Collette Smith, chief transformation officer at SmartSearch
The National Crime Agency estimates that £100bn of illicit finance is laundered through the UK every year. The impact that this has on our country is huge, far-reaching and, frankly, terrifying. Not only does dirty money perpetuate people trafficking, drugs and terrorism, it also evades taxation, squeezing our already-stretched public services.
Accountancy firms are one of the UK economy’s first lines of defence. Their failure to prevent money laundering can have serious consequences. The latest ICAEW annual AML supervision report for 2023/24 showed that 39 accountancy firms were sanctioned for AML weaknesses. Fines ranging from £560 to £8,000 were imposed, totalling £92,025.
Robust identity verification and customer due diligence are key to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering (AML), know your customer (KYC) and know your business (KYB) regulations.
