26/02/08 NEW 2007 MONEY LAUNDERING LEGISLATION
New anti-money laundering regulations took effect in the UK on 15th December 2007.
The legislation may concern Customs Agents who offer accountancy services or tax advice to their clients - specific advice, for example, on their tax affairs, including on their clients' liabilities to VAT, Excise and Customs Duties, environmental taxes, tax management and mitigation.
What has changed?
In summary the new Regulations:
· provide more detailed obligations regarding customer due diligence, for example, explicit requirements for firms to undertake ongoing monitoring of business relationships and for firms to identify not just the customer but the beneficial owner of the customer;
· require firms to vary customer due diligence and monitoring according to the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing;
· require firms to take enhanced customer due diligence measures in higher risk situations, while allowing firms to take reduced identification measures for specific situations with a lower risk of money laundering;
· allow firms to rely on certain other firms for undertaking customer identification; and
· clarify the arrangements for the supervision of firms, including those that will be supervised for the first time.
Link to the regulations:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/F/1/money_laundering_regulations2007.pdf
