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LPC Law Notes Civil Litigation Notes

Anti Money Laundering Notes

Updated Anti Money Laundering Notes

Civil Litigation Notes

Civil Litigation

Approximately 418 pages

A collection of the best LPC Civil Litigation notes the director of Oxbridge Notes (an Oxford law graduate) could find after combing through dozens of LPC samples from outstanding students with the highest results in England and carefully evaluating each on accuracy, formatting, logical structure, spelling/grammar, conciseness and "wow-factor".

In short these are what we believe to be the strongest set of Civil Lit notes available in the UK this year. This collection of notes is fully updated ...

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MONEY LAUNDERING

Main Money Laundering Offences for Solicitors – Proceeds of Crime Act 2000 [POCA]

Section Offence
327 Concealing, disguising, converting or transferring criminal property or removing it from the UK
328

Entering into or becoming concerned in an arrangement which you know or suspect facilitates the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property by or on behalf of another person

Scope of offence:

  • Not only actually handling client money – processing is enough

  • Mens rea can just be knowledge or suspicion

Exception when dealing with litigation – Bowman v Fels (2005) EWCA Civ 226:

  • C and D engaged in civil litigation – D had not paid VAT on some property

  • Not a requirement here for solicitors to report money-laundering suspicion

  • UNLESS litigation is a sham (insurance fraud arising from staged accidents)
329 Acquiring, using or possessing criminal property
330

Failure to disclose suspicions of money laundering – objective test is applied

R v Griffiths and Pattison (2006) EWCA Crim 2155:

  • “the absolute obligation [of all professionals involved in handling money/financial transactions] to observe scrupulously the terms of [POCA] and the inevitable penalty that will follow failure to do so”
333A Tipping off a person whom you know or suspect has been laundering money that a report has been made or that an investigation is being carried out or contemplated
342 Prejudicing a money laundering investigation

Penalties under POCA

Conviction for the above-mentioned POCA offences carries a prison term of up to 14 years and/or a fine.

Main Defences

  • Authorised Disclosure for s.328 “Arrangement” offence and s.330 “Suspicions” offence

  • No knowledge/suspicion – s.328 “Arrangements” offence; s.330 “Suspicions” offence (but see objective test) and s.333A(3) “Tipping off” offence

  • “Reasonable excuse”

  • Individual solicitors’ defence – lack of training

  • Legal Professional Privilege (LPP) unless the information supplied by the client is given with the intention of furthering a criminal purpose.

Procedural Requirements – Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 [MLR]

Reg
8 Applies to persons acting in the course of business in the UK including “independent legal professionals”.
26 Firms must apply to the SRA for approval under the MLR – acting without such approval is a criminal offence carrying a penalty of imprisonment and/or a fine.
18 Take appropriate steps to identify and assess the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.
21

Establish and maintain policies, controls and procedures to manage the money laundering and terrorist financing risks identified in the risk assessment.

  • Nominate a money laundering reporting officer (MLRO)

  • Train staff – Firms are obliged to provide training to employees in respect of money laundering, and particularly on how to recognise and deal with transactions that potentially involve money laundering.
27 Instigate client due diligence (CDD) procedures – subject to limited exceptions, solicitors are obliged to obtain verification of the identity of each client before a business relationship is established and before a transaction is carried out.
28(11) Due diligence must be ongoing throughout the client relationship.
37 Simplified due diligence: low risk client/transactions (e.g. client is a public company listed in the UK on the Stock Exchange; a UK public authority)
28 Standard due diligence: applies to most clients – verify client’s identity using “documentation, data or information from a reliable source independent of the person whose identity is being verified”.
33

Enhanced due diligence (EDD): higher risk of money laundering or terrorist financing identified by firm’s risk assessment, including if client is a PEP

  • Political exposed person (PEP): an individual entrusted with a prominent public function – higher risk for potential involvement in bribery and corruption
40 Keep records.

  • Require the ...

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