The Money Laundering Regulations 2003

Year2003

2003 No. 3075

FINANCIAL SERVICES

The Money Laundering Regulations 2003

28thNovember 2003

28thNovember 2003

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

PART I:

GENERAL

1.

Citation, commencement etc.

2.

Interpretation

PART II:

OBLIGATIONS ON PERSONS WHO CARRY ON RELEVANT BUSINESS

3.

Systems and training etc. to prevent money laundering

4.

Identification procedures

5.

Exceptions

6.

Record-keeping procedures

7.

Internal reporting procedures

8.

Casinos

PART III:

MONEY SERVICE OPERATORS AND HIGH VALUE DEALERS

Registration

9.

Registers of money service operators and high value dealers

10.

Requirement to be registered

11.

Supplementary information

12.

Determination of application to register

13.

Cancellation of registration

14.

Fees

Powers of the Commissioners

15.

Entry, inspection etc.

16.

Order for access to recorded information

17.

Procedure where recorded information is removed

18.

Failure to comply with requirements under regulation 17

19.

Entry, search etc.

Penalties, review and appeals

20.

Power to impose penalties

21.

Review procedure

22.

Appeals to a VAT and duties tribunal

Miscellaneous

23.

Prosecution of offences by the Commissioners

24.

Recovery of fees and penalties through the court

25.

Authorised persons operating a bureau de change

PART IV:

MISCELLANEOUS

26.

Supervisory authorities etc. to report evidence of money laundering

27.

Offences by bodies corporate etc.

28.

Prohibitions in relation to certain countries

29.

Minor and consequential amendments

30.

Transitional provisions

SCHEDULES

1.

Activities Listed in Annex 1 to the Banking Consolidation Directive

2.

Minor and Consequential Amendments

Whereas the Treasury are a government department designated(1) for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972(2) in relation to measures relating to preventing the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering;

Now therefore the Treasury, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by -

hereby make the following Regulations:

(i) section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, and(ii) sections 168(4)(b), 402(1)(b), 417(1)(3)and 428(3) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000(4),

PART I

GENERAL

Citation, commencement etc.

1. - (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Money Laundering Regulations 2003.

(2) These Regulations come into force -

(a) for the purposes of regulation 10 in so far as it relates to a person who acts as a high value dealer, on 1st April 2004;(b) for the purposes of regulation 2(3)(h), on 31st October 2004;(c) for the purposes of regulation 2(3)(i), on 14th January 2005;(d) for all other purposes, on 1st March 2004.

(3) These Regulations are prescribed for the purposes of sections 168(4)(b) and 402(1)(b) of the 2000 Act.

(4) The following Regulations are revoked -

(a) the Money Laundering Regulations 1993(5);(b) the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulations Relating to Money Laundering) Regulations 2001(6);(c) the Money Laundering Regulations 2001(7).

Interpretation

2. - (1) In these Regulations -

"the 2000 Act" means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;

"applicant for business" means a person seeking to form a business relationship, or carry out a one-off transaction, with another person acting in the course of relevant business carried on by that other person in the United Kingdom;

"applicant for registration" means an applicant for registration as a money service operator, or as a high value dealer;

"the appropriate judicial authority" means -

(a) in England and Wales, a magistrates' court,(b) in Scotland, the sheriff,(c) in Northern Ireland, a court of summary jurisdiction;

"authorised person" has the meaning given by section 31(2) of the 2000 Act;

"the Authority" means the Financial Services Authority;

"the Banking Consolidation Directive" means Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20th March 2000 relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions as last amended by Directive 2002/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16th December 2002(8);

"business relationship" means any arrangement the purpose of which is to facilitate the carrying out of transactions on a frequent, habitual or regular basis where the total amount of any payments to be made by any person to any other in the course of the arrangement is not known or capable of being ascertained at the outset;

"cash" means notes, coins or travellers' cheques in any currency;

"the Commissioners" means the Commissioners of Customs and Excise;

"constable" includes a person commissioned by the Commissioners and a person authorised for the purposes of these Regulations by the Director General of the National Criminal Intelligence Service;

"EEA State" means a State which is a contracting party to the agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as it has effect for the time being;

"estate agency work" has the meaning given by section 1 of the Estate Agents Act 1979(9) save for the omission of the words "(including a business in which he is employed)" in subsection (1) and includes a case where, in relation to a disposal or acquisition, the person acts as principal;

"high value dealer" means a person who carries on the activity mentioned in paragraph (2)(n);

"the Life Assurance Consolidation Directive" means Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5th November 2002 concerning life assurance(10);

"justice" means a justice of the peace or, in relation to Scotland, a justice within the meaning of section 307 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995(11);

"money laundering" means an act which falls within section 340(11) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002(12) or an offence under section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000(13);

"the Money Laundering Directive" means Council Directive 91/308/EEC of 10th June 1991 on prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering as amended by Directive 2001/97/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4th December 2001(14);

"money service business" means any of the activities mentioned in paragraph (2)(d) (so far as not excluded by paragraph (3)) when carried on by way of business;

"money service operator" means a person who carries on money service business other than a person who carries on relevant business falling within any of sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) of paragraph (2);

"nominated officer" has the meaning given by regulation 7;

"officer" (except in regulations 7, 10 and 27) has the meaning given by section 1(1) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979(15);

"officer in overall charge of the investigation" means the person whose name and address are endorsed on the order concerned as being the officer so in charge;

"one-off transaction" means any transaction other than one carried out in the course of an existing business relationship;

"operator" means a money service operator;

"recorded information" includes information recorded in any form and any document of any nature whatsoever;

"registered number" has the meaning given by regulation 9(2);

"relevant business" has the meaning given by paragraph (2);

"the review procedure" means the procedure under regulation 21;

"satisfactory evidence of identity" has the meaning given by paragraphs (5) and (6);

"supervisory authority" has the meaning given by paragraphs (7) and (8);

"tribunal" means a VAT and duties tribunal.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, "relevant business" means -

(a) the regulated activity of - (i) accepting deposits;(ii) effecting or carrying out contracts of long-term insurance when carried on by a person who has received official authorisation pursuant to Article 4 or 51 of the Life Assurance Consolidation Directive;(iii) dealing in investments as principal or as agent;(iv) arranging deals in investments;(v) managing investments;(vi) safeguarding and administering investments;(vii) sending dematerialised instructions;

(viii) establishing (and taking other steps in relation to) collective investment schemes;

(ix) advising on investments; or(x) issuing electronic money;(b) the activities of the National Savings Bank;(c) any activity carried on for the purpose of raising money authorised to be raised under the National Loans Act 1968(16) under the auspices of the Director of Savings;(d) the business of operating a bureau de change, transmitting money (or any representation of monetary value) by any means or cashing cheques which are made payable to customers;(e) any of the activities in points 1 to 12 or 14 of Annex 1 to the Banking Consolidation Directive (which activities are, for convenience, set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations) when carried on by way of business, ignoring an activity falling within any of sub-paragraphs (a) to (d);(f) estate agency work;(g) operating a casino by way of business;(h) the activities of a person appointed to act as an insolvency practitioner within the meaning of section 388 of the Insolvency Act 1986(17) or Article 3 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989(18);(i) the provision by way of business of advice about the tax affairs of another person by a body corporate or unincorporate or, in the case of a sole practitioner, by an individual;(j) the provision by way of business of accountancy services by a body corporate or unincorporate or, in the case of a sole practitioner, by an individual;(k) the provision by way of business of audit services by a person who is eligible for appointment as a company auditor under section 25 of the Companies Act 1989(19) or Article 28 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1990(20);(l) the provision by way of business of legal services by a body corporate or unincorporate or, in the case of a sole practitioner, by an individual and which involves participation in a financial or real property transaction (whether by assisting in the planning or execution...

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