- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Ruth Prickett2024-08-15T17:44:00
The U.K Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published findings showing that financial services firms are implementing its guidance on politically exposed persons (PEPs) related to anti-money laundering (AML) inconsistently, with experts warning firms of reputational damage arising from potential enforcement.
The FCA said in a review last month that financial institutions need “to do more” to ensure that U.K lawmakers and their families are not treated unfairly, with all firms needing “to check that their policies, procedures and controls are in line with our guidance,” the U.K. regulator said in a July 18 press release.
Firms should also expect guidance revisions to reflect changes to Money Laundering Regulations (MLR), which came into effect in January. A consultation on clarifications to the guidance on PEPs will close in October.
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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority apologized to investors in peer-to-peer investment firm Collateral for not acting swiftly enough to prevent Collateral from defrauding its customers.
The U.K. has an ongoing problem with money laundering, but recent changes to economic crime law and corporate registration requirements could bring more cases to court, according to consultancy KPMG.
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority is asking for input on which of its existing rules for financial services overlap with the year-old consumer duty rule, with an eye toward streamlining and simplifying both rule packages.
London has long had the dubious reputation of being the world’s money laundering capital and it looks like it’s a title it is likely to retain for some time yet.
The U.K. will struggle to shed its reputation as one of the world’s biggest conduits for dirty money due to a combination of patchy intelligence-sharing and poorly resourced enforcement agencies, experts told Compliance Week.
Enforcement actions in the first half of of 2024 by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network highlight the importance of proactive measures in Bank Secrecy Act compliance rather than just being compliant.
