Book review

Many of you know that distinctly uncomfortable moment when a client reveals information that suggests
they may have been involved in criminal conduct.

Does this mean the client is a money launderer? Can you continue to act? And how should you respond? Even experienced practitioners and compliance professionals find answering these questions isn’t always straightforward.

The fourth edition of the International Guide to Money Laundering Law and Practice is an invaluable tool in such a scenario, which most private client practitioners will encounter at some point in their career. The book provides comprehensive guidance about part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) and how it should be applied in practice.

Chapter 2 explains the nature and scope of the three principal money laundering offices (subsections 327, 328 and 329 of POCA) and the legal definitions of terms such as ‘criminal conduct’ and ‘criminal property’. It also addresses other concepts such as
dual criminality.

Readers are reminded that POCA does not contain a de minimis threshold for money laundering so a reporting obligation could arise even in relation
to relatively minor or technical breaches of the criminal law, which generate
only a modest amount of criminal property – a point often forgotten.

In addition to explaining the mechanics of applying for consent from the National Crime Agency (previously the Serious Organised Crime Agency), the authors have also addressed some of the most frequently asked questions and issues associated with filing suspicious activity reports, such as confidentiality, tipping off, how POCA interacts with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the risk of being sued for defamation.

The authors have provided a clear and user-friendly explanation about money laundering along with key concepts, such as placement, layering and integration, including a useful comparison between the characteristics of money laundering and terrorist financing.

There is also a reminder about the crucial role of professionals as ‘gatekeepers’ of the financial system. We should remember that criminals will always look for organisations with the weakest anti-money laundering systems and controls and seek to exploit them.

Chapter 2 provides a good summary of the requirements of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 while chapter 3 has more in depth discussion about customer due diligence procedures and the guidance published by the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group.

The discussion about anti-money laundering legislation in foreign jurisdictions will certainly be useful. Because many British organisations also operate abroad, compliance professionals need to have a good understanding of the anti-money laundering legislation that applies in those countries so they can carry out accurate risk assessments about possible money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

This edition spans jurisdictions including Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Russia and South Africa. The guidance is written by local experts who explain which money laundering typologies are the most common and what legislative measures have been put in place to address them, in particular whether there are any customer due diligence requirements and suspicious transaction reporting obligations.

In my experience, this type of information is not always easy to obtain and it is certainly rare to be able to access it all from one source.

This book wasn’t just written for money laundering reporting officers and other experts, and I recommend chapter 1
to anyone who is new to this subject. It is a valuable resource for all and I plan to keep a copy on my desk.

Karen Mitchell is head of compliance at Speechly Bircham

ISBN: 978 1 84766 979 7 Publisher: Bloomsbury RRP: £225 Published: October 2013