Anti-money laundering
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Anti-money laundering guidance for the legal sector
In April 2025, the guidance was updated to help legal professionals and firms comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (as amended).
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All resources
- Anti-money laundering (AML) compliance for small firms04 Dec 2023
- Anti-money laundering guidance for the legal sector23 Apr 2025
- Chinese underground banking and funds from China: LSAG advisory notice08 Mar 2023
- Consequences of not preventing economic crime: firm case studies22 Apr 2024
- Consequences of not preventing economic crime: solicitor case studies11 Apr 2024
- Customer due diligence25 Jun 2024
- Economic crime levy28 Nov 2025
- Identifying money laundering risk in the property market24 Jan 2025
- Internal money laundering reporting12 Jan 2020
- Legal professional privilege: disclosing suspicions to your MLRO07 Mar 2022
- Politically exposed persons 19 Dec 2019
- Professional enablers16 Sep 2024
- Quick guide to the Money Laundering Regulations 201717 Jan 2020
- Register of overseas entities: what solicitors should know about verification29 Jul 2022
- Risk assessments: anti-money laundering21 Jul 2025
- Source of funds checks25 Nov 2025
- Suspicious activity reports26 Nov 2025
- Tipping off and prejudicing an investigation27 Feb 2023
- Trust Registration Service (TRS) and AML compliance04 Apr 2022
- UK economic crime regime30 Apr 2024
- UK sanctions regime11 Nov 2025
- Warning signs of money laundering21 Jul 2025
- Who is regulated under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017?17 Jun 2024
- Bribery Act 201022 Sep 2022
- Compliance officers24 Sep 2025
- House competitions13 Jan 2020
- Responding to a financial crime investigation24 Jan 2022
- Can I accept my client’s £20,000 cash deposit?28 Apr 2021
- Can I ask a client about a register discrepancy without tipping off?08 Apr 2024
- Can I charge for due diligence checks?25 Nov 2021
- Can I tell a client I made a suspicious activity report?30 Sep 2024
- Can I use technology to carry out AML and sanctions checks on clients?08 Aug 2025
- Can my client use bitcoin to purchase property?08 Aug 2025
- Do I have to identify and verify all the beneficial owners of a trust?31 May 2024
- Do I need client consent to change file retention periods?14 Apr 2025
- Do we need to appoint an MLCO if we have an MLRO?11 Jun 2025
- How do I verify the identity of a client without standard documentation?01 Dec 2022
- I act for an executor who found £20,000 in the home of the deceased. What should I do?05 Dec 2022
- Is a deed of variation of benefits a money laundering or tax evasion risk?08 Aug 2025
- Is an MLRO automatically a BOOM?18 Mar 2024
- Is there a de minimis amount for sanctions?17 Jun 2024
- My client is a member of a UK political party. Do they count as a politically exposed person?08 Aug 2025
- My client is a possible sanctions match. What should I do?26 Aug 2025
- Should I report a minor AML breach to the SRA?25 Apr 2024
- What do we need to include in our policy on handling cash?08 Aug 2025
- What information can a bank request about our client account?06 Mar 2024
- What is Chinese underground banking?25 Mar 2024
- What is a politically exposed person (PEP)?09 Dec 2024
- Compliance calendar for small law firms27 May 2025
- Economic crime and regulatory compliance directory21 Nov 2025
- High-risk third countries for AML purposes29 Oct 2025
- Money laundering risks and threats26 Nov 2025
- Adequate consideration and proceeds of crime05 Dec 2024
- Changes to the UK anti-money laundering supervisory regime28 Nov 2025
- Economic Crime Act: what does it mean for law firms?07 Apr 2025
- Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act27 Nov 2025
- Economic crime plan11 Apr 2024
- Law Commission review of the suspicious activity report regime29 Feb 2024
- Money Laundering Regulations review06 Aug 2025
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What we're doing for you
The Law Society as a named regulator holds statutory obligations under Schedule 1 of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR).
While regulatory and enforcement powers have been delegated to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Law Society retains a critical non-regulatory supervisory role, including:
- providing information, guidance, and education on AML and economic crime compliance
- supporting best practice within the legal profession
- contributing to policy development, sector engagement and strategic reform
Economic Crime Committee
The Law Society is supported in this role by the Economic Crime Committee, which is a distinct and expert-led advisory body within our governance structure.