Suspicions, privacy & money laundering

New legislation to tackle money laundering and other financial fraud came into force last week in the shape of the Criminal Finances Act 2017, but how effective will it be? Writing in NLJ this week, Jonathan Fisher QC and Anita Clifford cast a critical eye over the new arrangements, highlighting the practical impact on lawyers, estate agents and financial sector professionals. Two significant changes are the new ability to share suspicions between regulated persons and for a court to extend the ‘no action’ period when a Suspicious Activity Report—but how this will work in practice is uncertain (see Suspicions, privacy & money laundering).