Solicitors In London - Offer Advice on Money Laundering

New proof of identity requirements when instructing all solicitors
Money Laundering Regulations

Solicitors, like many other advisers, are required by the Money Laundering Regulations to obtain proof of identity of clients or potential clients at the start of an instruction. You will probably be used to being asked for proof of identification from accountants or banks as well as from solicitors.

From 15 December 2007 regulations came into effect which require a change to our procedures. We now have to carry out "Customer Due Diligence" before we can agree to act for you. This means that we need to obtain evidence of identity and address and check that evidence before we agree to act for you. For most people, that will mean that we will need you to bring evidence of identity (such as a current passport or photographic driving licence) and evidence of address (in the form of a recent Council Tax bill and recent utility bill or bank statement) to our initial meeting.

The Regulations also require us to identify "beneficial owners" and "controllers".

For a Limited Company we will need:-

* Evidence of identity and address of at least 2 directors: and
* A list of the names and addresses of all shareholders, as well as confirmation of their voting rights.

For a partnership we will need:-

* A list of all partners; and
* Evidence of identity and address for at least 2 of the partners; and
* A copy of the current partnership deed or some other partnership document that confirms who owns the equity and the voting rights of the partners

For a trust we will need:-

* A list of all of the trustees;
* A copy of the document establishing the trust and appointing the current trustees: and
* A list of the beneficiaries of the trust (names, ages and addresses) with confirmation of their share of the equity

We may require you to provide further information and evidence of identity of shareholders, partners or beneficiaries depending on the circumstances. These changes will apply to some existing clients as well as new clients.

To minimise any delay caused by the need to comply with the Regulations please let us have the relevant documents as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept instructions until we have obtained all of the necessary evidence of identity.

For a List of Local Solicitors please follow this link:
Solicitors in London

Article Reference: footanstey .com/index.cfm/solicitors/About.Instruct

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