The offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 are not as straightforward as you may have thought.

There is a host of ways in which solicitors and their staff can breach the act and the Money Laundering Regulations 2003.

The principal money laundering offences as set out in section 327 (concealing), section 328 (arranging) and section 329 (acquisition, use, possession) apply to all persons in the UK, including solicitors and their staff.

Solicitors who conduct relevant business as defined in the regulations (who are therefore in the regulated sector), also need to be aware of the offence of failure to disclose knowledge or suspicion or reasonable grounds for suspicion of money laundering (section 330).

This objective test means that a solicitor may be guilty of an offence if he should have known or suspected, even though there was no actual knowledge or suspicion of money laundering.

Money laundering reporting officers, nominated officers within and outside the regulated sector, are at risk of offences under section 331 and section 332 (failure to disclose by nominated officers); and section 336 (nominated officer giving consent to a prohibited act otherwise than in the circumstances laid down in the Act).

All solicitors and their staff could also fall foul of the money laundering laws by tipping off (section 333) or prejudicing an investigation (section 342).

The offence of failure to comply with the anti-money laundering requirements imposed by the MLR (regulation 3 (2)) applies to principals and partners of solicitors' firms and officers of corporate bodies.

- The Law Society's professional ethics team provides a confidential guidance service for solicitors and their staff about professional conduct rules including money laundering (tel: 0870 606 2577, from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 4pm).