Is the pandemic having an effect on your AML checks and controls?

Money laundering continues to be a huge challenge, with ￡4.5 billion of “dirty money” estimated to have gone through the residential property last year, and some believing the actual figure is closer to ￡30 billion.

Real estate has been and continues to be the sector most favoured by money launderers seeking a clean market for their illicit wealth.

Our recent tm:tv session “Dirty Money in the Property Market” highlighted research findings by the SLC and SRA that “At the end of last year, a series of random surveys from the SLC found that two-thirds of firms were non-compliant with their AML rules, whilst the SRA found that 65% were just using a boilerplate template for their AML due diligence.”

While many property lawyers are working from home and new lockdown restrictions prevent face to face meetings, it remains vital to demonstrate due diligence in every case.

Innovative technology providers are rising to the challenge and solutions are now available that use Artificial Intelligence, facial recognition technology, and more, to verify identity documents and source of funds – saving time and reducing risk.

You can watch the full “Dirty Money in the Property Market” tm:tv session – featuring Joe Pepper, CEO, tmgroup, Simon Wilkinson, Board Member of Propertymark (NAEA), Olly Thornton-Berry, Co-Founder & MD of Thirdfort Limited, James Liffen, Partner and Head of Mishcon de Reya's Residential Property team, and Andrew Kimpton, Mortgage & Protection Adviser, Just Mortgages – here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw55zwSuVJs&t=2848s