- Publication Date
- 2021-07-27
The SRA conducted an audit to ensure compliance with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Transfer of Funds (information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs 2017), which came into force in June 2017. Law firms engaged in certain types of work must adhere to these regulations, which mandate the completion of a risk assessment to identify and assess business risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing (the AML firm-wide risk assessment).
Firms were instructed by the SRA to submit a declaration confirming the establishment of a compliant anti-money laundering firm-wide risk assessment by January 2020. The law firm in question failed to submit this declaration until April 2021, which constituted a breach of the required compliance procedures.
As a result, the SRA levied a financial penalty of £800 against the law firm.