The world of electronic verification is an ever-evolving industry, with some providers supporting features like facial recognition, authentication of documents, direct access bank account information, and PEP and Sanctions screening.Electronic verification should provide you with a level of certainty that the individual is who they say they are and, for…

Well, the NCA certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons recently at The Law Society’s Anti Money Laundering Conference.This is something I’ve been talking to clients about for about 5 years. In that time there have been some misunderstandings, both on the part of practitioners and law enforcement.The issue surrounds…

GDPR during the transition periodAs we’re all well aware, the UK will finally leave the European Union later today. The UK and the EU will then have until 31 December 2020 (the “transition period”, provided for in the withdrawal agreement) to negotiate an agreement setting out their future relationship. This…

Dreamvar – more than a year on …….. so, what has changed?It’s likely most conveyancers will shudder when they hear the name Dreamvar. It’s the case that changed the liabilities and responsibilities of lawyers and conveyancers when dealing with residential property transactions. But in practice, what has actually changed since…

The AML legislation imposes a positive duty on lawyers, in certain circumstances, to report any suspicion that their client is engaged in money laundering. Given that such a duty is, on the face of it, in conflict with fundamental obligations on solicitors to act in the best interests of their…

Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing illegal enterprises in the world (after drug trafficking). The statistics show the true extent of the problem – a joint report produced by FATF and the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (AGF) in June 2018 linking money laundering and human trafficking showed…

So, we all knew that the ICO had been equipped with a fine set of gnashers by the GDPR and DPA legislation. What we didn’t know was what it would take to get them to bare them or actually use them. Or what the consequences of an ICO mastication would…