Manni Hussain, who is alleged to have links to many of West Yorkshire's leading gangsters, has agreed to hand over the properties worth £10 million.

The hybrid's sloppy compliance procedures are slammed by HMRC who have given the agency a larger fine than even Countrywide's £215,000 AML penalty of last year.

An estate agent in Gibraltar has been fined £5,000 for failing to meet the British Overseas Territory’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) obligations but, extraordinarily, has not been named.

Estate agents face further cost next year if HMRC decides to implement an ‘economic crime levy’ on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulated firms within the property industry.

MPs have accused estate agents of being a ‘de-facto’ part of the Russian state in a shocking report.

Ross Ian Mackay has accepted his role in a prolific scam that saw some 80 properties bought via mortgage fraud from the early noughties onwards.

Agents renting properties for more than £8,400 a month have until January next year to register their businesses for AML and comply with the regulations.

Institution says the financial chaos and business uncertainty created by the pandemic will lead to more attempts to circumvent AML and other rules.