Recent money laundering legislation in the form of the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002), its subsequent amendment and the Money Laundering Regulations 2003 (MLR 2003) have ushered in a new legal regime in respect of laundering the proceeds of crime. This will have a profound effect on many solicitors and on their relationship both with their clients and with the authorities.
The new legislation has been widely drafted in many respects to reduce the risk, from a legislator’s point of view, of leaving loopholes through which unacceptable money laundering activities may pass unreported. In this form, the target of the new legislation appears to be not only the serious crimes envisaged in the EC Money Laundering Directives, but also crimes of any size or nature which yield benefits to wrongdoers.
The first title in the new Butterworths Family Law Service Small Book Series, Bazley and Winch – Money Laundering for Lawyers: The new requirements and their practical implications provides, in a conveniently sized volume, invaluable detailed information and practical guidance for lawyers – particularly matrimonial lawyers – faced, under the new legislation, with a responsibility for the reporting of suspected money laundering and the putting in place of the required procedures intended to forestall, deter or detect money laundering whilst continuing to provide a proper service for their clients.