We don’t know their names, we don’t know where they are from, but we do know they have been fined, could that be you?
Fines are being issued by HMRC for breaches by those governed by the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, including Estate Agency type businesses.
Most of the fines issued are not because an agent is assisting a seller or buyer to ‘launder money’ but rather they do not have the policies, procedures and processes in place to spot suspicious behaviour should it occur.
What penalties can HMRC issue?
Maximum Fine: Unlimited
Maximum penalty for serious breaches: up to 14 Years in Prison
In 2016/2017 HMRC:
Issued £1,143,000.00 in fines
Reports only 0.12% of Suspicious Activity Reports were submitted by the Estate Agency sector (766 reports out of a total of 634,000)
The National Crime Agency Report 2017/2018 states:
“There is a realistic possibility that the scale of money laundering impacting on the UK annually is in the hundreds of billions of pounds”
Both Government and HMRC are of the belief based on these figures that the Estate agency sector is not doing all that it could to assist in the prevention of money laundering in the UK
Don’t Risk a Heavy Fine, Seek Advice From a Compliant Property Sourcing Coach; Get Compliant and Stay Compliant!
Some articles commenting on fines for further research to increase the article word count:
Property Eye –Article January 2018
Property Eye – Article February 2018-11-01
Property Eye – Article April 2018
NAEA – Property Mark – Article January 2018-11-01
http://www.naea.co.uk/news/january-2018/agents-hit-with-hefty-fines-for-non-compliance-of-aml.aspx
Business Insider UK – Article January 2018
Property Eye – HMRC – Article – July 2018
Property Eye – HMRC – Article – February 2018-11-12
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