The FSA has set out its strategy for IFAs in the fight against money
laundering.
In its new role, required by the Financial Services and Markets Bill, the
regulator will have the power to institute criminal proceedings for
breaches of the money laundering regulations of 1993.
The rules include ensuring the names and addresses of new customers are
known, keeping records, watching out for big or increasingly regular
transactions and reporting any suspicions of money laundering to the
authorities.
The FSA says London's reputation as a big financial centre attracts
criminals who want to plough their ill-gotten gains back into the bank ing
system.
The FSA is inviting responses from the industry. It expects firms whose
systems are already at “acceptable levels” to be able to comply easily with
the proposed rules.
Managing director of authorisation, enforcement and consumer relations
Phillip Thorpe says: “The publication of these draft rules is an important
step for the FSA towards reducing financial crime.
“The proposed rules are sensible and pragmatic and their implementation should neither exclude anyone nor overburden the industry.”
Investment IFA Best Investment is angry with Legal & General for
requesting money- laundering certificates for Pep transfers of over £9,000.
It says these transfers do not form new money being inv ested, just a
transfer of an existing investment that had clearly complied with the
legislation at the time the purchase was made.
Best Investment says the only reason a Pep could be worth more than £9,000
is legitimate growth in the value of an already compliant plan.
Deputy managing director Jason Hollands says: “The legislation is designed
to frustrate drug traffickers and other criminals attempting to feed their
ill-gained profits into the legitimate financial system by placing a system
of checks on investment applications in excess of £9,000 which are not
drawn from a UK bank account.”
