Report anything suspicious
Anyone who undertakes the role of money laundering reporting officer (MLRO) knows there is often a feeling of dread when a report comes in from a member of staff, particularly if it comes with the caveat 'this is a really urgent on';.
We have a strict internal money laundering policy and compulsory annual training for all staff, which means I receive a steady stream of internal money laundering reports from our fee earners. This is of course not necessarily a bad thing as we do encourage all of our staff to report anything they feel
is untoward.
The vast majority of the reports I deal with come from our busy conveyancing department and unfortunately the inevitable delays, which stem from making a report to the National Crime Agency (NCA), often cause a steady stream of complaints from clients, solicitors and estate agents. Not only are those complaints difficult to handle, but all staff have to be extremely careful in what they say to avoid committing a tipping off offence by inadvertently disclosing that a report has been made.
The last two reports I’ve made to the NCA took a little longer than I would have expected to gain consent to proceed. I was therefore pleased to note the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU), which analyses and distributes financial intelligence gathered from the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) that solicitors submit, is set to implement new plans to quicken the turnaround for dealing
with SARs.
However, upon further inspection of the new plans
it appears the UKFIU has decided to speed up the process by rejecting SARs that lack sufficient reasons for the statement or suspicion regarding the criminal property. This means solicitors who haven’t submitted an accurate SAR will be faced with a rejected report and an even longer wait while they attempt to put the SAR right.
To make sure the MLRO submits a good quality report, I would suggest the following measures are adopted by law firms:
n Good, regular internal training for all staff, so everyone knows what they are looking for and what information to provide.
The importance of early reporting should be stressed.
n Regular training for the MLRO.
n An internal reporting form that encourages fee earners to supply as much information as is needed to make a good SAR. MLROs may have to get tough and reject reports just as the UKFIU would if the form is incomplete or lacks sufficient quality of information.
n Compile a list of common themes that arise out of the firm’s internal reports and use them
to give feedback and training.
n The MLRO spends sufficient time on the SAR making it clear what the suspicion is, how it has arisen and providing a clear statement of what the criminal property is.
The new rules came into force on 1 October 2014. SJ
Kathryn Taylor is managing partner at Gordon Brown Law Firm