The UK government will appoint the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to serve as the anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing (AML/CTF) supervisor for legal, accountancy, and trust and company service providers.
That role currently is administered by CIMA for its members in practice (MiPs).
“While this is not the outcome CIMA recommended, we recognise the complexity of the current supervisory landscape and the need for a more streamlined approach,” Peter Steel, CIMA’s vice-president–Professional Standards and Conduct, said in a statement.
Steel added: “We will continue to talk to HM Treasury and the FCA to keep our MiPs informed as the new model develops.”
According to the UK government’s consultation response on the changes, the FCA will carry out the new supervisory functions independently of HM Treasury and will be provided with the “powers necessary” to succeed in the role. Under the government’s reform, all firms currently supervised for AML/CTF matters by professional bodies and all accountancy service providers and trust and company service providers supervised by HMRC will be supervised by the FCA.
The FCA’s powers in taking on these extended responsibilities, for enforcement and other functions, will be set out in legislation, the UK government said. “This does not change firms’ obligations under the [money laundering regulations]. Firms that are already compliant should not need to make changes to their AML/CTF controls.”
Steel affirmed CIMA’s support for members during the transition. “When the necessary legislation is eventually put in place, our MiPs will be directly supervised by the FCA,” he said, “but until then, CIMA will continue to support them and monitor compliance to the highest standards.”
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.