2023 renewals: AML information and Regulation 18 risk assessments required

IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter AML Digest, November 2022

Contents

As part of the IPA licence renewal process, there is some information that is requested in relation to AML matters. Firstly, we ask who supervises you/your firm for AML and whether it is the IPA or another AML Supervisor. This is requested so we can ensure that all our members as ‘relevant persons’ under the 2017 Money Laundering Regulations are supervised by one of the AML Supervisory Authorities. We also ask for some simple information on who your Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) is and details on electronic verification and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) submitted to the NCA over the previous 12 months.

This year we will also be checking the position on Beneficial Owners, Officers or Managers (BOOMs). Details on what constitute a BOOM and why the IPA needs to approve BOOMs was provided in the February newsletter. The IPA has not carried out an exercise to check BOOMS since 2018, and this is an opportunity to review our records and ensure we have up-to-date details.

The most important piece of AML information we request is a copy of your firm’s Regulation 18 Risk Assessment. We will ask for a copy at each renewal, and the IPA carries out a random sample of Risk Assessments to check compliance. We will be expecting Risk Assessments to show that they have been recently reviewed and updated, and all risk assessments should include details regarding Russian sanction issues as they affect take-on of cases, as well as progression and distribution of funds in cases, and also have details regarding Bounce Back Loan and furlough frauds. These matters have been regularly highlighted by the IPA as high-risk areas that can affect all insolvency firms, and a compliant Regulation 18 firm Risk Assessment should include relevant details.