OPBAS slams professional body supervisors over weak regulation

As the Pandora Papers once again suggest, the net of anti-moneylaundering protectionin the United Kingdom has plenty of holes. While a May 2021 letter to retail banks is the latest expression of the Financial Conduct Authority’s displeasure at AML control failings under its watch, a recent report by the umbrella supervisor of the legal and accountancy sectors has enumerated further deficiencies among the gatekeepers. Denis O’Connor reports.

Denis O’Connoris a fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment. He was a member of the British Bankers’ Association Money Laundering Committee from 2003-10 and a member of the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group’s board and editorial panel between 2010 and 2016. He has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences on financial crime issues, both in the United Kingdom and abroad.

In a recently published report [1] the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) slammed the 25 professional bodies that supervise the legal and accountancy professions (PBSs) for creating a regulatory system that is ineffective in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (AML). OPBAS, which is housed within the Financial Conduct Authority, found differing levels of achievement and “some significant weaknesses” among the PBSs.