RICS secure an AML exemption

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) announced on the 14th of September that it had managed to negotiate an exemption for some of it's members from the 3rd EU AML Directive.

RICS noticed that certain property managers and letting agents, who provided accounts information to clients without necessarily ever handling any of the client's money, could have become part of the Regulated Sector under the 2007 Money Laundering Regulations.

HM Treasury apparently accepted the argument that this was an unintended consequence of the EU regulation and granted an exemption.

IMHO, however, RICS slightly muffed it by going on to state "All businesses should be vigilant, of course, and we do recommend property firms to adopt voluntary procedures to identify and prevent money laundering." (My emphasis). Someone down there believes that it is possible to be just a little bit pregnant!

Oh, and the OFT ought to take note of the closing comment on the RICs press release "RICS is scrutinising OFT's current plans to register, charge and supervise estate agents, who, of course, are part of the Regulated Sector under the money laundering regulations. RICS is currently examining ways in which these plans might be challenged."

So there!