6 Implementation of new money laundering
regulations
24. Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2001
Customs became the regulatory authority for those money services
businesses not already regulated by the Financial Services Authority,
namely bureaux de change (including Post Offices), money transmitters
and cheque cashiers. The Regulations gave Customs powers to inspect
premises in order to gain assurance that the businesses had appropriate
controls and procedures to prevent money laundering. Customs
were also given the power to impose civil penalties on traders
who failed to comply with the Regulations.[24]
25. The Regulations became effective from November
2001, and by 1 June 2002 Customs had been able to process applications
from more than 1,000 businesses. They believed that they had
registered the vast majority of relevant businesses, and that
by having increased access to data held by legitimate bureaux
de change they were better able to track the financial flows involved
in money laundering. They had encouraged their officers to identify
unregistered premises, and the number of criminal prosecutions
for money laundering had increased.[25]
26. Since the beginning of 2003 Customs have
had powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act to seize any cash they
believed to be linked to crime. They had seized some £1
million a week since the Act came into force, and intended to
seize other assets, such as houses and yachts. The court process
involved in confiscating goods could however be tortuous. Although
alive to concerns about data confidentiality, Customs believed
that tackling crime would be improved by sharing more data between
agencies.[26]
24 C&AG's Report, para 2.13 Back
25
ibid, paras 2.15-2.17; Qq 163-164, 168 Back
26
Qq 52, 105, 202-204 Back
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