Laundering checks ahead

Law firms will be subjected to rigorous checks on their anti-money laundering obligations, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned. It said it will shortly be writing to an initial sample of 400 firms asking them to demonstrate compliance with the government’s 2017 Money Laundering Regulations. In the past five years, more than 60 cases have been taken to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and 40 solicitors have been struck off, voluntarily come off the roll, or been suspended from practising. Paul Philip, SRA Chief Executive, said: ‘Money laundering is far from being a victimless crime.’