Solicitors praised the new head of the Serious Organised Crime Agency's (SOCA) 'more co-operative approach' to money laundering reporting this week - even though he ruled out any attempt to reduce the number of reports made by solicitors and other professionals.

In a review of the suspicious activity reporting (SAR) regime published this week, Sir Stephen Lander said SOCA should take on overall responsibility for the 'effective functioning' of the regime.


He said SOCA should have regular meetings with a 'vetted group' of representatives of the reporting sectors - which will include the Law Society - to 'discuss sensitive casework and reporting issues', and 'clear the distribution of SOCA guidance'.


Sir Stephen - who is also a member of the Law Society's Regulation Board - also recommended quarterly seminars for money laundering reporting officers and their senior managers, tailored specifically for the legal and other sectors. He acknowledged that material provided from the centre needed to be 'more differentiated by sector than it has been in the past'.


However, the SOCA head said it would be 'inappropriate' for government to seek to suppress the overall number of suspicious activity reports. He said the number of reports was 'not out of range' with jurisdictions such as the US and the Netherlands, and there was a 'pressing need' to address under-reporting in some sectors.


Solicitors made 9,600 reports last year, and were the third most prolific reporters after banks and accountants, contributing to 5% of the 195,000 reports made overall.


Robin Booth, chairman of the Law Society's money laundering taskforce, said it was right that Sir Stephen was focusing on 'ensuring that the reports that are made are the right ones, and that they are properly prepared'.


He added: 'The criminal sanctions that underlie the reporting regime - which the Law Society believes are excessive - are still there; but Sir Stephen is clearly looking not to rely on these, but to increase the level of active co-operation between the different sectors, and that is welcome.'


Law Society President Kevin Martin said the Society was 'consulted extensively'. He added: 'We are pleased that the report takes account of our concerns about safeguarding the confidentiality of SARs and makes important recommendations in this area; it also recognises the need for changes to the "consent" arrangements.'