UK banking watchdog defends anti-money-laundering oversight
According to the new rules introduced last week, professional bodies ranging from the Bar to the Archbishop of Canterbury - which regulates 763 notaries in England and Wales - risk public censorship by the FCA for loosely enforced anti-trust rules. laundering.
As part of the regulator's new role as Supervisor of Supervisors, FCA now oversees 22 professional bodies that, in turn, implement anti-money laundering measures. The smaller bodies, including the Archbishop's Office, pay £ 5,000 a year to be overseen by the Anti-Money Laundering Control Bureau of the city's control agency, OPBAS.
Megan Butler, FCA's chief of supervision, said the regulator had tried to be "thoughtful" in its approach.
"We seek to be risk-based, proportionate and proportionate to the risks that arise, and no one should prejudge our oversight strategy," she said.
The regulator said that the 15 dedicated OPBAS employees will spend next year visiting each professional body to try to figure out what is best practice, rather than immediately looking to launch the book to lax executors.
The idea is to ensure consistency in the application of anti-money laundering rules as part of the UK government's broader plan to make Britain more hostile to criminals hiding their ill-gotten gains. The government has already focused on the "facilitators" of money launderers - financial advisers who turn a blind eye, or even facilitate "dirty money" in the UK.
An earlier analysis revealed shocking inconsistencies in enforcement practices. The Solicitors Regulation Authority examined 375 law firms in 2014 and found an example where the Money Laundering Officer was an 18-year-old part-time worker.
But professional bodies criticized CFA's new role as the Law Society described the plan as "very slight detail" and concluded that it did not believe OPBAS would "add value to the AML regime".
Critics also argue that a stronger message would be sent if the authorities - including the FCA, the NCA and the police - brought criminal charges against advisers alleged to have been complicit in money laundering.
But Butler said such arguments amounted to "watching apples and pears".
"The role of OPBAS is to get supervisors to take these strong interventions or refer to the appropriate criminal agency," she said. "It's about sharing intelligence so we can see a concerted and impactful action." .
As part of the regulator's new role as Supervisor of Supervisors, FCA now oversees 22 professional bodies that, in turn, implement anti-money laundering measures. The smaller bodies, including the Archbishop's Office, pay £ 5,000 a year to be overseen by the Anti-Money Laundering Control Bureau of the city's control agency, OPBAS.
Megan Butler, FCA's chief of supervision, said the regulator had tried to be "thoughtful" in its approach.
"We seek to be risk-based, proportionate and proportionate to the risks that arise, and no one should prejudge our oversight strategy," she said.
The regulator said that the 15 dedicated OPBAS employees will spend next year visiting each professional body to try to figure out what is best practice, rather than immediately looking to launch the book to lax executors.
The idea is to ensure consistency in the application of anti-money laundering rules as part of the UK government's broader plan to make Britain more hostile to criminals hiding their ill-gotten gains. The government has already focused on the "facilitators" of money launderers - financial advisers who turn a blind eye, or even facilitate "dirty money" in the UK.
An earlier analysis revealed shocking inconsistencies in enforcement practices. The Solicitors Regulation Authority examined 375 law firms in 2014 and found an example where the Money Laundering Officer was an 18-year-old part-time worker.
But professional bodies criticized CFA's new role as the Law Society described the plan as "very slight detail" and concluded that it did not believe OPBAS would "add value to the AML regime".
Critics also argue that a stronger message would be sent if the authorities - including the FCA, the NCA and the police - brought criminal charges against advisers alleged to have been complicit in money laundering.
But Butler said such arguments amounted to "watching apples and pears".
"The role of OPBAS is to get supervisors to take these strong interventions or refer to the appropriate criminal agency," she said. "It's about sharing intelligence so we can see a concerted and impactful action." .
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