AAT urges accountants to "Flag It Up" to tackle the threat from "dirty money"

AAT  has today urged accountants to support Flag It Up, the Government’s anti-money laundering campaign, and "flag up" suspicions about potential "dirty" or laundered money.

AAT, a member of the Accountancy Affinity Group, has partnered with the Government as part of its new-look Flag It Up campaign, to highlight the threat posed to the sector by money laundering. Flag It Up supports accountants to spot the ‘red flags’ or so-called warning signs of money laundering and encourages them to flag up any suspicions by submitting a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Red flags for accountants to look out for include:

• whether clients are overly secretive or evasive;
• if the amount or source of funds seems unusual;
• if there are odd discrepancies in client transactions or business activities.

Knowing the "red flags" or signs can help protect accountants and their firms from being caught up in criminality and from the resulting reputational risk, fines and prosecution.

Adam Williamson, Head of Professional Standards at AAT, said,

In the accountancy sector, most of us are aware of the serious threat that money laundering poses to the profession, as well as to the economy. It’s important for AAT members to always be on the lookout for the red flags of money laundering. But beyond that, we also need to understand the importance of reporting, should we encounter what could be considered to be suspicious activity.

While the NCA’s National Strategic Assessment 2018 highlights that the scale of money laundering impacting the UK annually could potentially be in the hundreds of billions of pounds, accountants remain a clear target for criminals looking to exploit their professional skills and services to conceal the origins of the proceeds of crime. Accountants are under a legal obligation under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 to file a SAR when they spot something suspicious, and SARs are invaluable to law enforcement in helping tackle money laundering and other crimes.

For additional information about the "Flag it Up" campaign, or more advice on how to tackle money laundering, please visit the Flag It Up campaign website.