Anti-money laundering: Over £300 million has been denied to suspected criminals

How can your firm best ensure to protect against money laundering? The UK Financial Intelligence Unit received and processed 901,225 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in 2022, a 21 per cent increase on the previous year.

Out of these 901,225 SARs, 2,052 were made by solicitors, and 1,160 were requests from solicitors and firms who raised concerns regarding suspicious activity they had noticed.

In order to protect against money laundering, your firm should ensure to make a SAR if you know or suspect money laundering.

Not only will this help your firm to protect against criminal activity, but these reports also help law enforcement authorities to reduce criminal activity with intelligence you provide.

There are many resources you can use to put in place effective anti-money laundering systems such as ensuring to keep your business safe through risk assessments. These assessments should consider economic crime and business ethics.

Making a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR)

You will need to ensure your firm is up to date with how and when to make a SAR, what to include, how to request for defences against money laundering and the consequences if you fail to report suspicious activity.