We must comply with our legal obligations under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (as amended), which incorporates subsequent amendments made by The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (implementing 5MLD) and The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 and the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (High-Risk Countries) (Amendment) Regulations 2022, under the Council for Licensed Conveyancers Code of Conduct.
We are therefore under a legal obligation to ensure we have procedures in place designed to combat money laundering/terrorist financing. The very strict rules are in place to ensure criminals and terrorists do not use us as a way to launder money derived from criminal activities. One of the procedures we have in place is to ensure we are certain who we are acting for and the purpose of any transaction. If we fail to spot money laundering when we should have, we can face criminal charges therefore we take this matter very seriously.
All staff have been trained to spot attempts to launder money and other illegal transactions and regular training is provided. Our procedures are constantly updated to ensure your protection and ours.
Therefore, when we ask you for proof of your identity, address and questions regarding the source of funds please do not be alarmed. We do understand it may feel intrusive, but we hope you appreciate it is necessary, and we will not proceed to act until our requirements are met. If you are unwilling or unable to provide such information and evidence, we reserve the right to decline to act for you.
As part of our fraud protection measures we may carry out a Lawyer Checker against the lawyer acting on the other side of the transaction. We may carry out electronic verification checks against you and a consumer bank account checker. These costs are included in our fraud detection administration fee and if you instruct us to act you agree to us using your information for such searches as detailed in our terms and conditions.
We are now encouraging all clients to complete and submit their personal information via our third party app called ‘Thirdfort’. You will be provided with an Informational Leaflet for the App confirming the simple steps you need to follow. By using this service it means you can deal with all our requirements from the comfort of your own home quickly and easily. Thirdfort are FCA regulated, fully insured and use end to end encryption to make sure your data and information is secure.
In addition, you should also be aware that if there are any circumstances which would appear to be suspicious it is our duty to report them to the appropriate authorities.
Please note we do not accept cash over £400. Further details regarding this matter are contained in our terms and conditions and can be discussed with us direct, and we do appreciate your co-operation.
