- Publication Date
- 2021-06-23
The SRA conducted an audit on a law firm, which led to a disciplinary decision. The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs 2017) came into force in June 2017. Law firms engaged in certain types of work are required to comply with the MLRs 2017, which mandates them to carry out a risk assessment to identify and assess their business’s risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing.
The SRA required all relevant firms to complete a declaration confirming they had a compliant anti-money laundering firm-wide risk assessment by January 2020. The law firm in question failed to provide this declaration until April 2021. This failure was a breach of specific rules within the regulatory framework.
The SRA decided on a disciplinary action, directing the law firm to pay a penalty of £800.