The announcement comes as the recent National Risk Assessment (NRA) report released by the government highlighted that accountants are viewed as high risk by the authorities as they are exposed to potential clients with intentions to money launder through firms.

Accountancy service providers are rated as a ‘nine’ and identified as one of the sectors most likely to be vulnerable to exposure to money laundering, higher than banks at ‘six’ and legal service providers and estate agents at ‘seven’. Law firms, accountants, banks and money service businesses are ranked as high risk businesses when it comes to exposure to money laundering.    

The online course on anti money laundering for money service businesses provides updates on anti money laundering obligations and how to meet them under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

HMRC says that ‘the course is designed to build confidence by guiding you through everything you need to know to get started. It will cover the essential things you need to know and will tell you where you can find out more detailed information, if you need it. If you're already running a business, this course will help you too as it gives a good refresher on what you need to be doing’.

The live webinars last for an hour. Participants can ask questions during the presentation and get answers from the HMRC host. They’re aimed at businesses about to register, or already registered, for anti money laundering supervision.

HMRC recommends registering and logging in at least five minutes before a live webinar is due to start.

The dates for the webinars have not been confirmed as yet but there is a recording of a recent webinar available here

The free online course is available here

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