The MLR 8 Guide has been amended and approved by the HM Treasury minister

Since its publication in December 2007, the MLR 8 Guide to the prevention of money laundering and terrorist activity has been amended in a small number of areas which are out lined below. The revised guidance is now available.

Notice MLR8 Preventing money laundering and terrorist financing (PDF 653K)

The guidance has been approved by Kitty Ussher, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury for the purposes of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Terrorism Act 2000, the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, and the Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2007 which require courts to consider whether such guidance has been followed when deciding whether offences under these laws have been committed.

The amendments that have been made are:

  • Section 4: Senior management responsibilities – The demand that all businesses must have policy statements that document their risk-profiles and anti-money laundering procedures has been removed. As the policy statement is for the purpose of internal communication it would not be necessary in a small business with few or no employees. This issue is more appropriately covered in section 5: Internal control, which includes the need for documentation of the business’s anti-money laundering risk management policies and procedures, but also allows for the fact that the need for and extent of such systems of control will be determined by factors such as the size and nature of the business.
  • Improvements to the sections on identifying companies and their beneficial owners and the cross-referencing of the various sections, in particular section 7.8.1, section 8.2.2, and section 17.2.
  • Amendments concerning financial restrictions – sections 2.2.5, 7.14, 15.6, 19.6, 20.13.
  • Section 13 - amendments to details of the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Terrorism Act made by The Terrorism Act 2000 and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Amendment) Regulation 2007.
  • A small number of typographical corrections and amendments for grammar or clarity purposes.
  • The addition of guidance for Trust or Company Service Providers in Appendix 10.
    If you require a printed copy of the guidance, please contact our helpline on Tel 0845 010 9000. Copies will be available from mid October.