The HMRC has issued updated guidance on anti-money laundering to estate agents, to address and limit the exploitation of loopholes in new legislation and make ownership more transparent.
As reported by PropertyWire, the new advice provides a comprehensive overview of the various laws that estate agents have to comply with. It also highlights agents’ strategic role, because of their knowledge of both sides of a transaction, even in those situations when they don’t handle money directly. The advice also spells out the policies, controls and procedures that agents must put in place, and says agents must ‘devote enough resources to deal with money laundering and terrorist financing’.”
Legislation to better police the UK real estate market is long overdue, especially considering that between 2004 and 2015 at least £180 million of UK property was subject to criminal investigation as suspected proceeds of corruption, and this may be just the tip of the iceberg.
As AML requirements keep increasing for real estate agents in the UK and all over the world, Know Your Customer can provide fully compliant and easy to use AML solutions to protect companies and individuals from the risk of non-compliance and the hefty fines that come with it. If you’d like to know how we can help protect your property business, please get in touch here.
Last updated on May 2nd, 2024 at 02:53 am
