Marcial Boo, CEO

IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, September 2025

Dear members,

I was delighted to meet many of you at our Scotland Roadshow in August and to hear your views on the issues that matter. Thanks to all who joined us and contributed to the discussions.

Some important updates this month:

First, the Treasury’s 2025 review of frozen assets is underway. If you hold funds or economic resources that are owned or controlled by a designated person, you must submit a report to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) by 30 November 2025. Read more here.

Second, the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU), part of the National Crime Agency, has published resources to improve suspicious activity reporting. The latest issue of SARs in Action focuses on organised immigration crime (OIC), how it’s financed, and the role IPs play in disrupting it. It also explains and gives examples of wider risks, and how criminals launder the proceeds of crime.

Third, UKFIU has also released some best practice videos on Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), each lasting no more than five minutes. They’re a good tool for staff engagement and awareness, such as in team training, with practical examples that will be useful for Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) and others in improving the quality of SARs and Defence Against Money Laundering (DAML) requests submitted. They will also remind staff of the differences between DAML and Defence Against Terrorist Financing (DATF) requests.

And fourth, a reminder that, from 1 October 2025, the revised Insolvency Code of Ethics and the updated Insolvency Guidance Paper (IGP) on dealing with complaints come into effect. To help you with this, the IPA is hosting a Learning Webinar on 18 November to go through the new guidance.

Finally, I look forward to seeing very many of you already registered at next week’s IPA Spotlight on AML and Fraud conference in Birmingham. It promises to be an excellent and timely event.

Best wishes,

Marcial Boo