Solicitors are expected to have made up to 13,200 suspicious activity reports to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) in 2004 as concerns grow over the burdens imposed by the UK's money laundering regime.
According to NCIS, some 135,368 reports had been made by the end of November last year - the majority from financial institutions - with the total amount likely to have reached 150,000 by the end of December. Solicitors are likely to account for 8.8% - or 13,200 - of all reports made.
The vast majority of reports from lawyers comprise requests for consent to act, with solicitors making approximately 80% of such notifications. They are also expected to account for more than 1,000 of the non-consent-related suspicious activity reports made in 2004.
The number of reports made by UK lawyers stands in contrast to those made by their European counterparts. Research by the Gazette has found that in Denmark only between ten and 15 reports were passed on to the police last year by the Danish National Bar.
Elsewhere, only eight reports have been made by lawyers to the German Federal Bar - the country's competent authority for money laundering reporting - while in France, the national bar estimates that less than 50 have been made.
Robin Booth, chairman of the Law Society's money laundering task force, said it was hard to make direct comparisons with different jurisdictions, but added that at the very least the NCIS figures raised serious questions about the burdens placed on solicitors and the disruption caused to clients in the UK.
He said: 'The issue is whether the regime is proportional.'
The money laundering task force has been working with the Home Office in a bid to address some of the concerns held by solicitors. A spokeswoman for the Home Office insisted that the government is listening to the Law Society's concerns, and is looking at ways to reduce the regulatory burden.
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