HM Treasury has published a consultation on improving the effectiveness of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (the ‘MLRs’), which place requirements onto a range of businesses to identify and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
HM Treasury committed to consulting on changes to the MLRs as part of a wider programme of work aimed at reducing money laundering, which was set out in the Economic Crime Plan 2023-26.
This consultation principally covers issues with the MLRs already identified by HM Treasury, for example in the 2022 Review of the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulatory and supervisory regime. This review found that, while the core requirements of the regulations were mostly fit for purpose, there were potentially a number of technical changes that could be made to increase effectiveness and ensure proportionality for both regulated firms and customers.
The consultation also includes issues put forward by key stakeholders, such as the anti-money laundering/counter terrorist financing supervisors, the regulated industries and their representative bodies, which could reduce burdens and make the regulations more effective at tackling economic crime.
The consultation covers four core themes:
1. Making customer due diligence more proportionate and effective
2. Strengthening system coordination
3. Providing clarity on scope of the MLRs
4. Reforming registration requirements for the Trust Registration Service.
HM Treasury is keen to hear from a wide range of stakeholders in response to the consultation, including regulated businesses and their customers, supervisory bodies, law enforcement agencies, civil society organisations and members of the public.
Further details here:
The deadline for responses is 9 June 2024.
