Assisting financial institutions and other entities subject to the Money Laundering Regulations in meeting their anti money laundering requirements is an important part of our work. Ensuring that firms have effective systems and controls in place to combat money laundering and financial crime is a major focus area for the FSA; but of course the scope of the regulations extends well beyond the FSA regulated community.
New money laundering regulations, incorporating requirements introduced by the European Union's Third Money Laundering Directive, come into effect on 15 December 2007. They further extend the sectoral scope of the UK anti-money laundering regime and introduce some new concepts that firms will need to reflect in their procedures. Some types of business will have to register for the first time with the FSA and be subject to FSA monitoring in respect of their anti-money laundering controls.
We have wide experience in assisting firms to comply with the requirements in this area and in providing advice in relation to the FSA's rules and the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) Guidance Notes. The new Regulations provide a statutory basis for the risk based approach introduced in September 2006 by the JMLSG, which is reflected in the FSA's own requirements. We have assisted a number of firms with the development of a risk based approach in response to these developments and are well-placed to advise firms new to this area on how to meet their obligations.
In addition to providing general advice we can undertake compliance and due diligence reviews in relation to anti-money laundering requirements and provide reports to senior management on the state of compliance. We can also provide consultancy services to Money Laundering Reporting Officers in relation to their responsibilities, operational methods, procedures and reporting requirements.
We regularly provide FSA authorised firms with training on money laundering related issues in order to help them meet regulatory training requirements in this area.
For further details of the new Regulations see the briefing note on our Briefing Notes page.