Law firms subject to the Money Laundering Regulations will shortly be required to submit an SRA AML questionnaire.
The COLP will receive a link to complete the questionnaire in June, with a deadline of 31 July 2022.
Do not assume that the Money Laundering Compliance Officer or MLRO will also receive the link.
The purpose of the questionnaire is to feed risk information to the regulator. They want know which firms pose a higher risk for money laundering. The implication is that higher risk firms will receive closer supervision – for example, targeted visits and audits.
Since some of these questions require an element of data collection, you should start compiling your responses now. Late or non-existent filings could be an indicator of a firm without a good grip on AML compliance.
1. What percentage of all the matters opened (ie new matters) were in scope of AML last year?
- 0
- 1-25
- 26-50
- 51-75
- 76-100
- All matters treated as in scope, whether in scope or not
- Don’t know
2. What percentage of your fee earners do any work in scope of AML?
- 0
- 1-5
- 6-20
- 21-50
- 51-99
- 100 (or we assume all fee earners do work in scope)
- Don’t know
3. What was the largest single deposit (ie transfer) of money into your client account in the last year?
- £0
- £1-10,000
- £10,001-100,000
- £100,001-1,000,000
- £1,000,001-10,000,000
- £10,000,001+
- Don’t know
4. What is your acceptance limit for physical cash payments (excluding physical cash payments for fees)?
- None allowed
- £1-500
- £501-2,000
- £2,001-5,000
- £5,001+
- Don’t know
5. How many formal internal reports of suspicion were made by staff to the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (sometimes known as the ‘nominated officer’) or any of their deputies in the last year?
- 0
- 1-3
- 4-7
- 8-15
- 16-30
- 31+
- Don’t know
- Only one individual in the firm
6. How many Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) did your firm submit to the National Crime Agency last year?
- 0
- 1-3
- 4-7
- 8-15
- 15+
- Don’t know
7. What percentage of your firm’s new AML matters in the last year had Enhanced Due Diligence applied to them? (If you cannot answer this question, please answer with the percentage of new AML matters that were rated as high risk).
- 0
- 1-10
- 11-20
- 21-40
- 41-60
- 61-100
- Don’t know
8. What percentage of new AML matters in the last year involved a client or /counterparty established in a high risk third country or in a country that your firm treats as a high risk third country for the purposes of customer due diligence?
- 0
- 1-10
- 11-20
- 21-40
- 41-60
- 61-100
- Don’t know
9. Has your firm acquired, amalgamated with or been absorbed by (including being purchased in its entirety by) another entity in the last year?
- Yes
- No
10. What was the largest percentage of overall (both in and out of scope of AML regulations) fees earned from one client over the last year (ie what percentage of your total fees came from the client that paid you the most in fees)? This client could be an individual, an entity or a group of entities.
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-20
- 21-40
- 40+
- Don’t know
11. How many clients have you acted for in the last year who were a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) excluding instances where the beneficial owner of a client was a PEP? (A definition of PEP can be found in 16 of the Financial Conduct Authority’s guidance and includes, for the purpose of this question ‘a family member or a known close associate of a PEP’ as per regulation 35(1)(b))
- 0
- 1-3
- 4-7
- 8-15
- 15+
- Don’t know
12. Number of times that you have returned more than £5,000 from your client account in the last year? This could be either because your instructions from the client have been cancelled or a party (client or otherwise) claimed to have deposited money in your account in error.
- 0
- 1-3
- 4-7
- 8-15
- 15+
- Don’t know
13. In the last year, have you carried out any work for a sanctioned (ie they were sanctioned by the UK Government at the time of the work and not subsequently) individual or organisation, also known as a designated person?
- Yes, with a license from OFSI
- Yes, without a license from OFSI
- No
- Don’t know
