Agents fined by HMRC for breaches of anti-money laundering rules

Three property agents feature on the latest list of businesses in trouble for failing to comply with money laundering regulations.

The list refers to businesses that received a penalty between February 1 2020 and March 30 this year.

One agency - Jess Simpson Ltd, registered in Oxfordshire - has been fined £6,300 by HMRC for failing to apply for registration at the required time.

Another - Landmark Sales and Lettings, based in Reading - has been fined £5,250 for “breaches in conducting due diligence” and the timing of verification.

The third - London agency Robert Holmes & Company - has been fined £6,591 for being in breach of a variety of regulations. The official entry in the government list of those receiving penalties says: “Breaches in failures in having the correct policies, controls and procedures; internal controls; conducting due diligence and timing of verification.”

The Fifth Money Laundering Directive obliges all property agents to have transparent procedures to prevent money laundering. There is a legal responsibility to undertake Customer Due Diligence on buyers and sellers before carrying out a transaction.

The full list is available on the HMRC website here.

HMRC describes itself as a supervisor of Money Laundering Regulations under the Fifth Directive, and is responsible for publishes lists of those organisations which have failed to comply with regulations.

This afternoon Jess Simpson Ltd issued a statement saying its breach had been "quickly rectified."