ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS

MONEY LAUNDERING – STEADY AND INFORMED GUIDANCE FOR THE SOLICITOR AND PUBLIC ACCESS BARRISTER

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers

Money laundering – a teeth chattering two word phrase that can certainly elicit spinal shivers in the most stalwart solicitor– is the subject of this extremely useful book that can help you save time, and ensure compliance on the part of your clients, enabling you to be confident that you are providing best advice on this often vexed matter.

In this its third edition, this useful volume guides you through the tangled thickets of money laundering legislation, which have become somewhat more tangled following the introduction of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, implementing the requirements of the EU Directive on money laundering on 15 December 2007. As a result, wider administrative requirements are being imposed on solicitors in relation to clients’ use of services.

The guide also covers and the Law Society’s Anti-money Laundering Practice Note of 22 February 2008 – another milestone in the evolution of the law and practice concerning anti-money laundering – from which the author has quoted extensively. Also contained in the appendix to the book is the full text of the Law Society’s most recent Anti-money Laundering Practice Note of 22 February 2008 which, (at the time of the book’s publication, November 2008), was submitted to the Treasury for approval.

In the words of Sir Stephen Lander, Chair, Serious Organised Crime Agency, ’the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (in force as at December 2007) ‘incorporate a risk-based approach to customer identification and due diligence and will have a direct impact on solicitors and their dealings with their clients….’ ‘It is no longer possible, says Peter Camp, ‘to turn a blind eye to a client’s potential criminal transaction’.

User-friendly, straightforward and accessible, ‘Solicitors and Money Laundering’ illustrates with practical examples some of the complexities encountered within this area of law. Of particular interest is Part 2 of the book with its section on ‘How to spot money laundering activities in a solicitor’s practice’. This section is directly relevant to those barristers who can now accept public access work and have done the course which strongly features how to deal with money laundering issues.

With key texts and legislation included in the appendices, plus useful Table of Cases and Table of Statutes, this is an invaluable work of reference for the well prepared solicitor’s library.

ISBN: 978-19-85328-753-4

The Autocar Handbook, 13th. edition, very 1930ies and very pleasant reading on a slightly overcast but nice Sunday afternoon.