Book-Keepers can launder money.

We are now some 22 months into the UK's implementation of the 3rd EU AML Directive, and I'm still encountering people who argue that book-keepers don't need to be registered for anti-money laundering purposes.


Wrong. You and your firm do either with a professional body like the International Association of Book-keepers (http://www.iab.org.uk/ ) or HMRC.


Why, because book-keepers have access to company financial records, which they can manipulate and steal from which is why they were deliberately included in the Anti-Money Laundering regulations in the first place.


Now the example above is of a US book-keeper will serve up to 16 years in prison – with four years fixed – and he will have to pay his former employer, $500,000 in restitution.


IMHO, The addition of money laundering to theft charges will become the norm in the UK as well.

Any questions?

Should MSB’s “beware the ides of err... September?”

Image via Wikipedia

As I say to my clients on a regular basis, Money Launderers don’t think the way we do! For example, they look at religious festivals across the globe and then work out how they can use them to their advantage.

So my thanks go to the sharp eyed Neil Tyson of GNT Fraud Solutions, (here is his company’s website http://www.gntfraudsolutions.co.uk/ ) who spotted an interesting article from Crimestoppers, the UK centred independent charity that helps to find criminals and solve crimes.

They have issued a warning about money launderers using the month of September to co-mingle the proceeds of crime with the legitimate remittance traffic from Money Service Bureaus (MSBs). Crimestoppers assert that the residents of two London boroughs can reduce the risk (although Crimestoppers boldly state prevent) their money being used to fund serious crimes by only using registered (with HMRC) money bureaus when transferring money abroad.

And why September? Well they feel that the message is particularly relevant during this month as a number of different faiths transfer money to relatives or charities abroad in line with the celebrations occurring around the middle (or ides) of the month. Namely and in no particular order:

§ Eid, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting
§ Navratri the Hindu festival of worship and dance
§ Rosh Hashanah which we commonly refer to as the "Jewish New Year."

So the, the argument goes, the volume of money sent goes up and, as a result, it is easier to mix extra illegal funds into the mix.

So potential customers are asked to avoid unregistered MSBs.

This, from my slightly jaundiced point of view, gives rise to a number of issues for those businesses in the regulated sector:

1) Do you advertise that you are regulated?
2) If you don’t, shouldn’t you? E.g. a notice in the shop window and a note on your website.
3) This kind of notice from Crimestoppers should be looked at as part of a continuing educational process for consumers.
4) It is worth remembering that a failure to register automatically makes your enterprise guilty of an infraction of the Money Laundering Regulations, and, subject to possible sanctions under criminal law
5) You might also find that the authorities find out about what you’re doing, by virtue of your clients (actual or potential) phoning someone like Crimestoppers to tell them what you have been doing. By the way, the CrimeStoppers number is 0800 555 111, should you feel the need.

It’s that point 5 that goes to my view on this. Cheap intelligence that could really have an impact on possibly criminal operations.

Now that, I like.

Come on everybody, it's registration time!

You will recall that when the UK implemented the 3rd EU AML Directive in December 2009, it also made 22 existing organisations (like the AIA and IAB) responsible for regulating their members for the purposes of identifying and preventing money laundering and counter terrorist financing.

One of the new organisations which gained AML oversight responsibility was the UK Government’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

The following types of business are supervised by the OFT and will need to register:

• Consumer Credit Financial Institutions. These are businesses carrying on consumer credit lending activity who are neither authorised by the Financial Services Authority nor money service businesses supervised by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

• Estate agents. This covers those engaged in estate agency work as defined by Section 1 of the Estate Agents Act 1979.
  

From 31st July 2009, the OFT now requires all its supervised businesses to register before the 31 January 2010. Fees would appear to range from £115 to £2,300.

Failure to register could lead to the OFT imposing a civil penalty or taking a prosecution if business is carried on after 31 January 2010. Prosecution could result in a sentence of up to two years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.

Remember, if you are supervised by the OFT you need to:

1. Register with the OFT before the 31 January 2010 - see Registration page.
2. Comply with the Regulations - including
a) confirm customer identity and ongoing monitoring of business relationships
b) keep records for 5 years from the end of the business relationship or, if an occasional transaction, the end of the transaction
c) appoint a Nominated Officer
d) implement risk based compliance policies and procedures, and
train staff in law and procedures.
3. Make Suspicious Activity Reports

From an economic point of view, the timing isn’t brilliant.

However, it is now time to implement your new systems, register and comply.

HMRC warns of ‘real risk’ from scam emails

Recently scam emails promising a a tax refund have been sent out by scammers. This Activity has been increasing during 2009 and recipients are requested to enter bank and credit card details for repayments to be made. The HMRC have warned that some of the fraud attempts are quite plausible.

The following press release is quoted in full so that everyone knows what is going on. The link in the title takes you to the relevant HMRC website and was posted on 22nd July 2009.

Criminal gangs are targeting taxpayers with thousands of scam emails offering bogus tax refunds. The online attacks, known as ‘phishing’, have peaked during July leading to increased reports of fraud to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

The scams tell the recipient they are due a tax refund and ask for bank or credit card details so that the fictitious tax refund can be paid out. HMRC is warning customers about the possible dangers of falling for this scam during this phase of increased attacks on UK residents.
All customers who provide their details to the fraudsters run a real risk of their accounts being emptied and credit cards used to their limit. The victim also risks having their personal details sold on to other organised criminal gangs.

Lesley Strathie, HMRC Chief Executive said:
“We only ever contact customers who are due a refund in writing by post. We never use emails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances. I would strongly encourage anyone receiving such an email to immediately send it to us for investigation and delete it from their computer.”

HMRC is taking action to disrupt these attacks and through co-operation with other law enforcement agencies in the UK and overseas a number of scam networks have been shut down – most recently in July in Korea, Thailand, UK and USA.

HMRC strongly advises: * Check the advice published to hmrc.gov.uk/security/index.htm to see if the email you have received is listed.

* Forward suspicious email to HMRC at phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and then delete it from your computer / mail account.
* Do not click on websites links contained in suspicious emails or open attachments.
* Follow advice from http://www.getsafeonline.co.uk/. If you have reason to believe that you have been the victim of an email scam, report the matter to your bank/card issuer as soon as possible.
* If in doubt, please check it out with HMRC at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/fraud-attempts.htm


Notes to editors
1. The scam email often begins with a sentence such as ‘Following a review of your fiscal activity you are due a refund of tax of £XXX.’ 2. HMRC previously warned the public about phishing attacks in January 2009 during the run-up to the deadline for online self-assessment tax returns. 3. The current increase in scam emails is partly due to people following HMRC advice and forwarding them to the department’s security and fraud team.4. In the last 12 months HMRC has received over 15,000 reports of fraudulent repayment emails.5. Do not visit the website contained within the email or disclose any personal or payment information.
Email addresses used to distribute the tax rebate emails include:
* refundtax@hmrc.gov.co.uk
* TaxRefund@hmrc.gov.uk
* service@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
* claims@hmrc.direct.gov.uk
* notice@hmrc.gov.uk
* hmrc@hmrc.gov.uk
* admin@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
* info@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
* no-reply@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk

HMRC does not send out emails using these email addresses.
Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Press OfficePress enquiries only please contact:
Contacts

NDS Enquiries ndsenquiries@coi.gsi.gov.uk