These were original devised to catch international currency offences, mostly
drug money, etc. Banks had to report any suspicious transactions to the authorities.
The system worked and a number of criminals were caught and prosecuted with illegal
funds recovered.
This success led to wider regulations and these also proved
beneficially. The third set of directives now includes estate agents on the argument
that many criminals use property transactions to legitimise or launder dirty money
from the black economy or illegal activities. The latest regulations cover estate
agents and solicitors who are supposed go through a procedure called ‘know
your client’ (KYC) before accepting instructions.
For estate agents
the rules are fairly simple: we need to see personal identification such as your
passport, a photographic driving licence or a fire-arms certificate – basically
anything with an official photograph we can verify and record the reference number.
Secondly
we need to link the individual to the property for sale. Again this is easy enough
– we need to see a Council Tax bill, utility bill, etc. It must have your
name and the property address and be less than three months old. Mobile phone
bills do not count. We may well know who you are but we need to be able to record
the reference numbers and the date and then sign a certificate which the authorities
can inspect if ever checking up on us!
Hopefully this will not be inconvenient
to you. Matters are more difficult where you are abroad and we cannot compare
you directly with the documentary evidence. A certified identification from your
solicitor or a doctor is acceptable but, technically, we are not supposed to accept
instructions from anyone until satisfied that the KYC procedures were in order.
Presently
we are not required to take similar steps to verify the identity of prospective
buyers (at least not from the money laundering aspect) but Brussels is working
on a new draft EU Directive which will tighten the regulations. Don’t hold
your breath.
