From 10th January 2020 new regulations, laws and procedures came into force effecting all UK businesses in the regulated sector, including Solicitors, Accountants and Estate Agents. Following the UK's exit from the EU in December 2020 The UK transposed the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive into UK law.
If you are an existing AML Search v2 user and screen all of your Clients using AML Search v2 then you may only need to review and update your Risk Assessment procedures and AML Search Risk Profiles to reflect any changes in your internal procedures.
If you are an existing AML Search v2 user and do not currently screen all of your Clients using AML Search v2 then we recommend that you review the new regulations relating to Simplified and Enhanced Due Diligence.
If, like many firms, you simply take a copy of a Client's identiy documents, your procedures and processess are likely to have to change significantly to be able demonstrate your compliance with the new regulations and laws.
Evidencing your compliance does not have to have a significant impact. Over 17,000 users reply upon AML Search to provide simple workflows, and accurate compliant Client Due Diligence, reducing the time and expense of demonstrating AML compliance.
The regulations are clear - there is no longer an automatic exemption from undertaking Enhanced Due Diligence, as opposed to Simplified Due Diligence,
which has often been undertaken by simply obtaining a copy of a Client's Identity documents,
for example a Passport and Driving License. Firms will be required to be able to demonstrate their Risk Assessment of Clients and evidence
they have identified the Client and screened them against alert sources including Sanctions and PEPs in order to demonstrate their compliance.
There are additional requirements for the time that firms have to be able to demonstrate and deliver up to regulators their compliance in relation to specific clients, on-going due diligence monitoring and how long records may be kept.
The penalties for failing to comply with obligations under the regulations have also been increased. In addition to penalties that can be imposed by regulators,
including the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and Financial Conduct Authority, the Policing and Crime Act 2017 has increased fines to up to £1,000,000 (plus 50% of funds in some cases) and increased prison sentences from 2 to 7 years where 'the person has breached a prohibition, or failed to comply with an obligation, that is imposed by or under financial sanctions legislation'.
AML Search has been at the forefront of electronic Customer Due Diligence for over 10 years, our user-friendly, robust platform has helped over 6,000 firms and 18,000 users reduce the time and cost of carrying out compliant Due Diligence for over 1.6 million clients.
In June 2017 we released AML Search v4, which built opon AML Search v2's robust data analytics to include full automated Risk Assessments, Compliance Reporting, documentary evidence management, on-going monitoring and automated record keeping.
AML Search v4 represents a leap forwards in the streamlining and simplifying of a firms Customer Due Diligence procedures which dramatically reduces both the time and cost of Anti-Money Laundering regulatory compliance.
Our unique electronic Risk Assessments reduce time and costs by automating your CDD, monitoring and record keeping
Simply and quickly implement and demonstrate your compliance with regulations, law and best-practice procedures
No license fees, upfront costs or per user seat fees, AML Search is a simple pay-as-you use service that can be treated as a disbursement
Our experienced support team are available to assist you and your personnel in real-time through our integral support systems
Find out how simple compliant Client Due Diligence Risk Assessments can be with AML Search v4