The Law Commission has today launched a major consultation paper on anti-money laundering legislation. The review is focused on the 'consent regime' contained in Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Part 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and aims to improve the effectiveness of the regime and reduce the number of 'low quality' suspicious activity reports submitted to the National Crime Agency.
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The Commission has set out a range of provisional proposals, including:
- statutory guidance on what to look for and a set format for submitting suspicious activity reports
- asking whether new tools could help enforcement, like US-style Geographic Targeting Orders
- a new power to require additional detail and record keeping requirements targeted at specific transactions
- cutting back on low quality reports by focusing on accounts where there are reasonable grounds to suspect property is criminal property
- providing detail as to what amounts to a defence of 'reasonable excuse' for not making a suspicious activity report
- asking whether organisations should be liable for failure to prevent a criminal offence when an employee fails to disclose a suspicion
The Law Society, through its Money Laundering Task Force, will be submitting a response to the consultation, which runs until 5 October 2018.
More information about the project can be found at the Law Commission's website.
