An Introduction To The Money Laundering Regulations 2007

19 December 2007

A Presentation by the IIM to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Turnaround Panel

On 7th November, members of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Turnaround Panel gathered at Holborn Bars in London to hear Tom Brass and Martin Eley, Deputy Chairman and a Director of the Institute respectively, give an overview of this new legislation which comes into force on 15th December.

Although the event was billed as a presentation, it rapidly turned into a highly interactive session as the Turnaround Panel members grasped the significance of the new Regulations and began to work out the impact that it would have on them personally and on their personal service companies (PSCs).

After setting the general scene about what constitutes money laundering, Tom and Martin went into through the basic essentials covering:

• the categories of Interim managers (and their PSCs) likely to fall within the Regulated Sector – broadly, those providing accounting or tax advisory services, or who take board level positions whilst on assignment at clients
• the different supervisory agencies and bodies responsible for monitoring those categories within the Regulated Sector, including, where relevant, mandatory registration
• the need for risk-based policies and procedures concerning client identification, record keeping, and training
• what suspicious activities the Interim manager should report to the Serious Organised Crimes Agency, and when and how to make the reports.

The penalties for non-compliance with these Regulations are significant – even the most basic offences carry maximum penalties of two years in jail and an unlimited fine – and it is essential that Interims coming within their scope understand what is required of them.

The IIM is planning a programme of seminars early next year to bring its members and other Interims up to speed with what they need to do. Interims who are not IIM members but who wish to be on the circulation list to receive details of these seminars should email mlr@ioim.org.uk as soon as possible.