February 2009

16/02/2009 – LAW SOCIETY HIGHLIGHTS HEAVY COMPLIANCE BURDENS PLACED ON SOLICITORS

The Law Society, the professional body of solicitors in England and Wales, has responded to a call for evidence from the House of Lords, highlighting that no detailed cost/benefit analysis has been undertaken into the effectiveness of either the Financial Action Task Force's recommendations, various European Directives or the UK anti-money laundering regimes.

The response from the Law Society shows evidence that strongly suggests that the regulated sector is spending significantly more on compliance than the UK government is recovering in criminal property. As a consequence, the Law Society has issued different recommendations that aim to improve the assessment of effectiveness of AML regimes; the recovery of criminal property, and the flow of information from enforcement agencies to the private sector.

Click here to access the Law Society’s response to the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union – sub committee F (Home Affairs).

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05/02/2009 – SWEDEN: IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE

The Swedish Government has decided on a legislative proposal on the implementation of the 3rd Anti Money Laundering Directive. This Directive was brought before the Swedish Parliament on 13 November 2008. The Legislative Bill on the implementation, and some opposition motions, have recently been reviewed by the Parliamentary Committee on Justice. The Swedish Parliament will vote on the proposal on 11 February 2009. If the Bill passes, it would be effective from 15 March 2009.

The Swedish Bar Association and the Swedish legal community have expressed to the Parliament their serious concerns with the extent of the reporting obligation that would be included in the new law, if approved. Currently, lawyers are obliged to report to the Financial Police any suspicious transactions once they have found a reason to do it in accordance with the existent law. However, according to the Swedish Government Bill on the implementation of the third money laundering directive, a lawyer will have that obligation even in the absence of a previous report. Under these circumstances, the lawyer will need to give information upon request from the police, even when the authority has a suspicion coming from a third party only (Article 22 1b of the Bill).

Johan Sangborn, from the Swedish Bar, commented that “The Swedish Bar is of the opinion that this is an unacceptable enlargement of the reporting obligation. Furthermore, according to our knowledge the Directive has not been implemented in this way in any other European Member State”.

A full version of the bill is available here (Swedish only). 
 

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