The UK's Money Laundering Regulations 2007: A sting in the tail

The UK’s Money Laundering Regulations 2007 were laid before Parliament on 25 July 2007 and came into force on 15 December 2007. They will undoubtedly effect change within the UK’s corporate services industry.

For much too long the provision of UK corporate services has been unregulated, resulting in a wide spectrum in the quality of services provided. There has of course always been a cadre of corporate service providers who have imposed high professional standards of conduct and self-regulation to maintain their good names and reputations.

Some of these high quality businesses have for a long while also operated offshore trust and corporate services businesses in territories such as Gibraltar, Jersey and the Isle of Man, where strict regulation and comprehensive anti-money-laundering regulation was the norm well before such legislation was even a twinkle in the eye of the British Parliament.

But the fact remains that too many providers of UK corporate services have not policed themselves adequately, and their services have been both limited in scope and technically inadequate. Given the large appetite for UK companies (and trusts) as international tax mitigation vehicles by non-UK tax and trust professionals, the services of the ‘bucket-shop’ registration agent has often resulted in severe customer disappointment as well as financial loss.

This article, written by Martin Palmer, Director, Jordans International Ltd, briefly summarises the main provisions of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 governing the definition of a trust or company services provider, and the obligations of this sector under the Regulations.

The UK's Money Laundering Regulations 2007: A sting in the tail (PDF document)