Tag: Independent AML Audit
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FCA Compliance Checklist: Is Your Law Firm Ready for the New AML Supervisor?
Law firms should prioritize demonstrating the effectiveness of their existing anti-money laundering (AML) controls before the FCA begins supervision in 2028. A comprehensive FCA compliance checklist will help firms assess their current practices, risk assessments, and policies to ensure readiness. Proactive measures are essential to address potential weaknesses ahead of regulatory changes.
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FCA AML Audits: The Regulator May Change, but the Risk Will Not Divide Neatly
The FCA is expected to take over direct AML supervision, but legal regulators will retain wider professional oversight. Conveyancing risks will not divide neatly between them.
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The AML Evidence Chain: Why Every Document Must Tell the Same Story
AML compliance fails when risk assessments, policies and file records exist in isolation. A defensible framework requires every document and decision to connect.
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Nine Years Without a Documented FWRA: What This SRA Fine Teaches
An SRA desk based AML review found that a small London practice had operated for almost nine years without a documented firm wide risk assessment and could not produce CMRA records on half the files examined.
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FCA Wants Partnership With Solicitors. It Will Still Expect Proof
The FCA says it wants partnership, proportionate supervision and less unnecessary paperwork. For law firms, that makes evidence of effective AML controls more important, not less.
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Lexcel Accredited but Removed from Lender Panels: The AML Blind Spot Behind the Badge
A firm maintained Lexcel accreditation for more than ten years but was removed from key lender panels after an SRA AML audit. What does that reveal about accreditation, independent AML audits and the risk of false assurance?
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FCA AML Supervision of Law Firms: The 2028 Transfer Is Taking Shape
The FCA expects to begin assuming AML supervision of approximately 60,000 legal and accountancy entities toward the end of 2028. This article examines its proposed risk based approach and the practical steps law firms should take now.
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Lender Panel Survival: What Firms Must Do Before the Warning Arrives
Lender panel membership is a vital commercial asset. This practical 2026 guide explains how conveyancing firms can identify panel risks, strengthen compliance and respond effectively when a lender or panel manager raises concerns.
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The FCA Is Set to Take On Legal Sector AML Oversight: What It Means for Law Firms
The UK government announced that the FCA will start supervising anti-money laundering (AML) for legal professionals by late 2028, unifying oversight previously handled by multiple bodies. FCA AML audits are on the way. The transition mandates stricter compliance standards and emphasises effective control measures, urging law firms to prepare well in advance.
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Independent AML Audit Should Be Your First Move – Here is Why
AML compliance has moved firmly to the front of the agenda for UK law firms. With the Solicitors Regulation Authority taking a more assertive stance and the courts broadening the scope of what constitutes money laundering an independent AML audit is the most important step they can take right now. The Regulatory Mood Has Changed…