In an attempt to tighten up anti-money laundering supervision of solicitors, the UK government has confirmed plans to transfer responsibilities from the Solicitors Regulation Authority to the Financial Conduct Authority, although a date has yet to be confirmed.
Why change is needed
The UK government has expressed a desire to demonstrate a coordinated, consistent, risk-based approach to anti-money laundering. Following consideration of a number of options, it has been determined that the most appropriate way of gaining consistency across all regulated professions is to outsource the oversight of this function to the FCA.
Start preparations now
Although a date for the transfer of responsibilities has yet to be communicated, it is clear that law firms must start preparations now. With increased scrutiny expected in areas such as AML frameworks and company policies, it can be helpful to engage the services of independent FCA compliance consultants, such as //www.adempi.co.uk/, to help position your organisation for success.
What happens next
There are still some key points that need to be clarified before the transfer can occur; however, in the meantime, law firms should produce an evidence set that demonstrates they have effective and tested AML procedures, can identify breaches and know how to address and escalate them, and have consistent supervision processes with regard to all aspects of anti-money laundering.
By maintaining anti-money laundering as an organisational priority and strengthening your evidence set for effective practice in this area, the changes, whenever they happen, should be minimal and mainly a clerical update task rather than a significant operational change.
