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RICS calls for minimum money laundering competence
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has called for, ‘minimum competency,’ requirements for sales and letting agents to deal with anti-money laundering issues.
Director of regulation for the UK and Ireland at RICS, Luay Al-Khatib, believes that competency standards should be brought in as soon as possible. In addition, he feels that these new measures should be regulated by the industry and possibly by RICS itself.
Issues
Al-Khatib told the Estates Gazette magazine that, ‘the biggest issues surrounding money laundering are perhaps ignorance and complacency.’ He added that by law, ‘agents have a responsibility to check the identity of customers.’[1]
Continuing, Mr Al-Khatib said he wants RICS to play a prominent role in any future regulation of letting and sales agents. He stated, ‘there’s a lot professional bodies can do to ensure compliance by members. RICS will be applying to become a Treasury-designated supervisory body for anti-money laundering.’[1]
In the same article, written in response to the Channel 4 documentary, ‘From Russia With Love,’the National Association of Estate Agents says the focus of agents should be on identifying and assessing buyers and sellers alike.
RICS calls for minimum money laundering competence
‘Anti-money laundering procedures in the UK have centered on the seller rather than buyer, with agents failing to appreciate the implications of the Proceeds of Crime Act,’ said NAEA managing director Mark Hayward.[1]
Overhaul
Trevor Mealham, founder of the Independent Network of Estate Agents, was more severe in his calls, stating that, ‘legislation should insist properties for sale would first be identified and registered.’ He also said, ‘geo-location, property type, usage, ownership and secondary titles could be established.’[1]
‘Using data analysis, there could be investigation triggers sent to HMRC, the Treasury, Serious Fraud and so on,’ he continued.[1]
[1] https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/9/money-laundering-rics-wants-higher-standards-and-self-regulation
