Tipping Off v Asking Questions

While the UK's Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) has been in place for two decades, debates around the practicalities of suspicious activity reporting continue. The tipping-off offence under s.333 has received particular attention and criticism. In February 2023, the UK National Crime Agency published Guidance on submitting better quality Suspicious Activity Reports. While the Guidance does not explicitly reference s.333 POCA, Mario Menz discusses how and why financial services firms should question customers before filing SARs, and how this should be done without falling foul of the tipping-off offence.

Mario Menz (mario.menz@hotmail.co.uk) is Head of Compliance & MLRO for Ghana International Bank plc, and course director of the LL.M Financial Services Law, Regulation & Compliance at London Metropolitan University.

While the UK's Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) has been in place for two decades [1], debates around the practicalities of suspicious activity reporting continue. The tipping-off offence under s.333 has received particular attention and criticism. In February 2023, the UK National Crime Agency published Guidance on submitting better quality Suspicious Activity Reports. [2] While the Guidance does not explicitly reference s.333 POCA, Mario Menz discusses how and why financial services firms should question customers before filing SARs, and how this should be done without falling foul of the tipping-off offence.