Her Majesty’s Treasury (HM Treasury) will soon publish its final policy decisions in advance of the June 26, 2017 implementation of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (2017 MLRs).

The 2017 MLRs are intended to transpose the EU’s fourth directive on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (4MLD). The Fund Transfer Regulation (FTR) which accompanied will also be effective on June 26.

Comments received from HM Treasury’s initial request for public consultation on transposing the 4MLD in UK Regulation have already been incorporated into the regulations. Treasury officials provided a summary of the consultation as well as a summary of the interventions and opinions for stakeholders.

Coming Soon: New U.K. Office for AML Supervision of Professional Bodies

In parallel, the U.K. announced it would create a new Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS).

Currently, there are more than 22 professional bodies that supervise accounting and legal service providers. OPBAS will coordinate and align the risk-based approaches taken by each of the 22 bodies.

In particular, OPBAS aims to publish standard AML guidance for each business sector, reducing the number of guidance documents and easing the regulatory burden on firms.

For more information, contact: Carlton Greene, Cari Stinebower, Charles De Jager; Gordon McAllister, Edward Norman, Mariana Pendas