Lawyer guidance on money laundering

Special guidance to help lawyers avoid money launderers was agreed by international organisations last week.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the inter-governmental body charged with combating money laundering and terrorist financing, agreed to publish new guidance in conjunction with the International Bar Association (IBA), American Bar Association and Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe.

Lawyers will be advised to focus on their client’s location, the nature of their business and the nature of the services requested when assessing whether a client could be using them to launder money.

Stephen Revell, chairman of the IBA’s anti-money laundering legislation implementation group and a partner at magic circle firm Freshfields, said: ‘It’s a win for the profession. The new risk-based approach will allow lawyers to have a more targeted approach, so they should be more effective and efficient when deciding if they’re being unwittingly involved in money laundering.’

In a statement, the FATF said it is ‘keen to ensure lawyers remain vigilant in examining the real identity of their clients’. It recommended that internal anti-money laundering processes were adopted as an ‘integral part’ of a practice.