HMRC publishes details of hundreds of businesses fined for breaching AML rules

The penalties relate to breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations

The UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published the details of 240 supervised businesses that have been fined a total of £3.2 million between 1 July and 31 December 2022 for breaching the anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

The named firms that have received penalties include Xpress Money Services Limited, which was fined £1.4 million for failures in carrying out risk assessments, having the correct policies, controls and procedures in place, and failures relating to conducting due diligence. A significant number of firms have been penalised for failing to apply for registration at the stipulated time. In addition to the named businesses, HMRC has fined another 179 companies combined penalties of over £200,000 for rule breaches.

According to HMRC’s press release, its work to combat financial crime alongside other agencies and government departments has resulted in the number of money service businesses falling from 1,508 in 2020 to 1,049 in 2023. According to government figures, the number of money service business agents has reduced from 35,507 to 30,217 during the same period.

Commenting on the announcement, Nick Sharp, HMRC’s Deputy Director of Economic Crime, Fraud Investigation Service, said: “Money laundering is not a victimless crime. We are here to help businesses protect themselves from criminal attacks and will continue to tackle the minority of businesses which do not comply with the Money Laundering Regulations. Serious and organised crime costs the UK billions of pounds every year and our anti-money laundering supervision is a vital tool in combatting that.”