Almost one in three estate agents are unsure if they have an anti-money laundering process in place despite it being the law to do so, a new survey has found.
The study by document and identity verification provider Credas also found that 38% of agents said their businesses did not have an AML officer in place and that a further 19% weren’t sure if there was an AML officer within the company.
‘These statistics are concerning. Anti-money laundering non-compliance is a very serious issue for estate agents, with the average fine being £12,000 and sometimes much higher,’ said Rhys David, chief executive officer of Credas.
The research also shows that only 16% of those surveyed said they understood the anti-money laundering regulations comprehensively, with 4% admitting they know nothing at all about it.
‘Again, this is very concerning and shows that more work has to be done by the HMRC and the industry itself to educate agents at all levels on the legislation and its parameters,’ David added.
He explained that between the introduction of GDPR and ever tightening anti-money laundering (AML) regulation, this year is a challenging one for the property sector. For that reason, it’s more important than ever for agents to double check that they would pass an investigation.
‘The concern is that we could soon be faced with a wide range of agents who are paying fines because they underestimated what is legally required of them,’ he added.
