The SRA has increased their fining power
Last year the SRA increased its fining powers from £2,000 to £25,000 to enable them to impose larger fines on legal firms that fail to implement adequate Anti Money Laundering training and systems. Before this change any fines of over £2,000 would have to be investigated by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). The SRA believe that any cases with fines below £25,000 are usually straightforward and do not warrant the time of the SDT.
SRA Fine Law Firm a Record £20,000 for AML Failings
It has recently been announced that the SRA has fined a firm a record £20,000 for failing to have anti-money laundering training and systems in place. The announcement of this fine should trigger some firms into checking that their current AML policies are fit for purpose as this particular fine is 10 times more than SRA have been able to issue previously. Furthermore, the SRA issued this fine despite finding no evidence that the lack of AML training and systems harmed consumers or third parties. The firm in question had received warnings notices from the SRA about ensuring this AML issue was dealt with prior to issuing the fine.
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We act for a large number of law firms across all three of our offices and offer a wide range of services which are tailored to meet their individual needs. Our legal client base consists of a multitude of firms of varying structure and size, from sole traders to limited companies and LLPs with corporate members.
Our understanding of the unique issues that many in the sector are facing, combined with our technical experience, allows our solicitor specialists to provide you with proactive, commercial and informed accountancy and tax advice.
Simon Bladen
Partner
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About this Author
Simon Bladen is the partner responsible for looking after the firm’s legal clients and has worked at Hawsons throughout his career. For more information or advice on anything covered in this article, please contact Simon on slb@hawsons.co.uk or 0114 226 7141.[/author_info]
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