Our recent survey of 100 estate agents suggests that the average fine incurred following HMRC review for apparent AML non-compliance with Anti-money Laundering breaches is £11,842 – with one-third of all agents being fined between £15,000 and £25,000.
Anti-money laundering non-compliance is hitting the pockets of agents around the UK, with nearly a fifth found non-compliant.
Our concerns for Estate Agents and Anti-Money Laundering non-compliance.
From our research, we have recognised that some agents are being fined even though the sector hasn’t had the time or enough clear information to prepare appropriately for the new regulations.
Our research concerns us – with 32% of the agents surveyed are still using a paper filing system to store their anti-money laundering data.
There are many digital solutions available on the market which will help agents with data storage and management, that there is no need to still depend on an old-fashioned filing cabinet and introduce risk.
Credas stores all scanned documentation in a secure cloud environment, removing the risk associated with a paper filing system, and furthermore helps comply with the new GDPR legislation, that is fast approaching.
This year will be a challenging one for the property sector, with General Data Protection Regulation compliance also on the horizon on May 25, and it is more important than ever for agents to look at other ways of complying with regulation and safely storing data.
