The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 , Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017
The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017) came into force on 26th June 2017
Who is Covered by MLR 2017?
The Regulations specifically apply to ‘Independent legal professionals’ which means a firm or sole practitioner who by way of business provides legal or notarial services to other persons, when participating in financial or real property transactions concerning:-
(a) The buying and selling of real property or business entities;
(b) The managing of client money, securities or other assets;
(c) The opening or management of bank, savings or securities accounts;
(d) The organisation of contributions necessary for the creation, operation or management of companies; or
(e) The creation, operation or management of trusts, companies, foundations or similar structures
Capital One Solicitors Money Laundering Policy
Confidentiality, Identification Procedure and Money Laundering
Proof of Identity
The law now requires us to obtain satisfactory evidence of the identity of our clients. This is because solicitors who deal with money and property on behalf of their client can be used by criminals wanting to launder money. To comply with the law, we need to get evidence of your identity as soon as possible. We will therefore need to see your original passport or UK driving licence. If you do not have either a passport or a UK driving licence then please contact us to discuss what alternative documents can be used to establish your identity. If you are unable to provide original documents then a copy will suffice provided a solicitor has certified the copy. We also need to obtain evidence of your address – you will need to provide us with a recent original utility bill (no less than 3 months old) or bank statement or your driving licence. We will need to see originals unless a certified copy is obtained.
Confidentiality
Solicitors are under a professional and legal obligation to keep the affairs of their clients confidential. This obligation is however subject to a statutory exception: recent legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing has placed solicitors under a legal duty in certain circumstances to disclose information to NCIS. Where a solicitor knows or suspects a transaction on behalf of a client involves money laundering the solicitor may be required to make a money laundering disclosure. If this happens we may not be able to inform you that a disclosure has been made or of the reasons for it because the law prohibits ‘tipping off’. Sometimes external firms or organizations may conduct audit or quality checks on our practice. These external firms or organizations are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your files.
Data Protection and Privacy Policy
We refer you to our website https://www.capitalonesolicitors.co.uk/ for our privacy policy in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation.
This sets out in brief:
The type of information do we hold about you.
This also includes, how we collect it and use it , our legal basis for doing so , who we share it with and how long we keep it , where we use it , your rights , to include your right to complain.
Anti Discrimination Policy
In accordance with the Solicitors’ Practice Rules 1990 we will not discriminate against any person under any section of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Capital One Solicitor’s Customer Due Diligence Policy
Regulations 27 and 28 require us to undertake client due diligence on all new clients
For corporate clients we obtain and verify
- The name of the body corporate;
- Its company number or other registration number;
- The address of its registered office, and if different, its principal place of business.
In addition we take reasonable measures to determine and verify:-
- The law to which the body corporate is subject, and its constitution (whether set out in its articles of association or other governing documents);
- The full names of the board of directors (or if there is no board, the members of the equivalent management body) and the senior persons responsible for the operations of the body corporate.
Where the customer is beneficially owned by another person,
(a) We Identify the beneficial owner;
(b) We take reasonable measures to verify the identity of the beneficial owner so that the relevant person is satisfied that it knows who the beneficial owner is; and
(c ) if the beneficial owner is a legal person, trust, company, foundation or similar legal arrangement we take reasonable measures to understand the ownership and control structure of that legal person, trust, company, foundation or similar legal arrangement.
We conduct enhanced customer due diligence measures and enhanced ongoing monitoring are under Regulation 33 in any case identified as one where there is a high risk of money laundering or terrorist financing:-
Particularly if the we determined that a customer or potential customer is a PEP, or a family member or known close associate of a PEP.
If we discover that a customer has provided false or stolen identification documentation or information and the relevant person proposes to continue to deal with that customer;
Where a transaction is complex and unusually large, or there is an unusual pattern of transactions, and the transaction or transactions have no apparent economic or legal purpose,
In any other case which by its nature can present a higher risk of money laundering or terrorist financing.
Sources of Funds
In order to ensure that we comply with anti-money laundering regulations the source of funds need to be verified and we shall also require to disclose the source of your savings. A firm cannot accept any liability for any problems (e.g. time delays) that subsequently arises due to conducting such investigation.
Tipping Off under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
We are under obligation to prevent money laundering and will notify NCA or other relevant authorities of any knowledge or suspicion of money laundering and we will not notify you if we report such findings.
