On July 17, HM Treasury published the Government’s response to its consultation on proposed changes to the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLRs) together with its Impact Assessment (June 20). Response. Impact Assessment.
The Government’s proposals aim to reduce the regulatory burden imposed by the MLRs, while strengthening the overall anti-money laundering (AML) regime. Among the proposals the Government plans to:
- Retain the criminal penalties in the MLRs (even for minor breaches of the MLRs).
- Remove the current distinction between bodies listed in Parts 1 and 2 of the MLRs for customer due diligence (CDD) reliance purposes.
- Strengthen and clarify the powers of the Office of Fair Trading and HMRC.
- Make the FSA the recognised formal supervisor for recognised investment exchanges (RIEs).