Anti-money Laundering (AML) Legislation

All accountants must comply with onerous duties imposed by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2003 (the “Anti Money Laundering Legislation”), which are intended to inhibit the activities of terrorists and other criminals by denying them access to technical expertise. If we fail to perform these duties, we risk imprisonment.

Before we accept your instructions, we may need to obtain ‘satisfactory evidence' to confirm your identity. In certain circumstances, we may need to obtain evidence confirming the identities of third parties, the source of any funds or other property, the purpose of any instructions or any other matter. We may also need to obtain such evidence after we have begun to act on your instructions.

We assume that our clients are honest and law abiding. However, if at any time, there appear to be grounds to suspect (even if we do not actually suspect) that your instructions relate to ‘criminal property', we are obliged to make a report to the Serious Organised Crime Agency. But we are prohibited from telling you that we have done so. In such circumstances, we must not act on your instructions without consent from SOCA. If SOCA do not refuse consent within 7 working days we may continue to act. If SOCA issue a refusal within that time, we must not act for a further 31 days from the date of the refusal.

‘Criminal property' is property in any legal form, whether money, real property, rights or any benefit derived from criminal activity. It does not matter who carried out the criminal activity or how removed the property is from the original crime. Even if you are honest in your dealings, if your property represents a benefit from someone else's crime, we must still make a report.

Activity is considered ‘criminal' if it is a crime under UK law, no matter how trivial. For example, tax evasion is a criminal offence but an honest mistake is not. We will assume that an discrepancies are mistaken unless there is contrary evidence.

Acceptable means of confirming identity:

Current signed Passport
Current UK photo card Driving licence
Current Full UK Driving licence (old style paper version)
Current EU National Identify Card
Other recognised identity card such as an Armed Forces Identity Card, Police Warrant Card or photo student Identification / Matriculation Card (from a recognised university of college) Construction Industry - Tax exemption certificate with photograph of holder (forms CIS4, CIS6, SC60)
NHS Medical Card (persons 20 years old and under)
Birth Certificate (persons 20 years old and under)
Firearms or shotgun certificate
Inland revenue tax notification (not P45 or P60)
Benefit book e.g. Pension Book of benefits Agency original notification letter
Photo Credit/Debit card issued by a UK/EU bank
Disabled driver's pass
OAP Travel Pass
National Insurance Card supported by payslip

Acceptable means of confirming address:

Utility bill (within last 6 months)
Current UK photo card Driving Licence
Current Full UK Driving Licence (old style paper version)
Bank/Credit Union/Building Society/Credit Card statement or passbook (within last 6 months)
Council tax bill or payment book (within last 12 months)
Recent mortgage statement (within last 12 months)
Current local council rent card or tenancy agreement (private tenancy agreements are not acceptable)
Benefit Book e.g. Pension Book of Benefits Agency original notification letter
Vehicle Licence renewal notification (V11)
Vehicle registration document (V5)
Home Insurance certificate or policy
Motor Insurance certificate or policy
TV licence renewal notification
Electoral roll
Telephone directory
Credit reference agency
Company search

Photocopies are sufficient, no need to provide original document.