Agent apathy when it comes to anti-money laundering (AML) is leading to a dangerous mindset that could cost them dear, First AML has warned.

Nearly half (43%) of all property professionals are not improving their anti-money laundering (AML) processes because they either don’t care or don’t think they will get fined.

DIRTY MONEY

Britain is already acknowledged as a ‘Laundromat’ for dirty money due to weak enforcement rules – property worth some £1.5 billion has already been bought by Russians with Kremlin links or facing corruption allegations.

But despite this over a third (36%) of property professionals haven’t reviewed the sanction list in the last month.

Worryingly, six out of 10 say they are not confident in their AML procedures and nearly half (48%) have identified an instance of suspected money laundering in the past three years.

COMPLIANCE

Meanwhile four in 10 (42%) say that they are considering cutting their compliance budget in light of the expected recession.

Simon Luke, UK Country Manager at First AML, says: “Property professionals need to be more vigilant when it comes to their anti-money laundering processes.

Turning a blind eye because they believe the severity of fines is small or inconsequential is a dangerous mindset.”

“Turning a blind eye because they believe the severity of fines is small or inconsequential is a dangerous mindset. It’s time for the real estate sector to ensure they have a robust process in place in order to prevent dirty money from passing through their systems.”

TRAINING

When asked what they believed was the weakest part of their AML process, the majority of property professionals surveyed said training staff on the latest regulations (29%). This was closely followed by document collection for individuals and companies (24%) and getting staff to actually follow procedures (23%).

Luke adds: “The sector needs to reassess its priorities. And that means implementing innovative technology solutions that can not only reduce costs and the administrative burden of compliance, but also ensure businesses are doing the right thing.”