On August 24, 2020, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority announced that it was considering an expansion of its annual financial crime reporting obligations to include firms that engage in regulated activities that potentially pose higher money laundering risks, regardless of a company’s revenue threshold. According to the FCA, approximately 2,500 of the 23,000 firms and businesses that subject to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, submit Annual Financial Crime Reports – reports that the authority uses to monitor the types of money laundering risks firms face, based on its regulated activities and the nature of its customers.
The FCA currently determines whether a company needs to comply with the reporting requirement, based on company type, such as banks and mortgage lenders, and activity type, such as the processing of e-money transactions and providing consumer credit. The FCA would like to expand the reporting requirement to include crypto-asset businesses.
The FCA requests comments on this proposal until November 23, 2020, and aims to publish a Policy Statement of their decision by the first quarter of 2012.