Are You Facing an AML Compliance Check?
Get Immediate Help & Put Your Mind to Rest
AML Compliance Experts is Standing By & Ready to Help You -- Call Right Now!
+44 (0)7816 909638
Dear Fellow Business Owner,
If you’re facing an AML compliance check or onsite inspection, you’re right to be worried. The potential risks for you if you’re non-compliant are immediate and severe.
Regulatory scrutiny could destroy your business and ruin your livelihood.
Anti-Money Laundering compliance is a time-consuming pain and demands rigorous attention – it takes you away from more important and pressing matters like generating profitable revenue.
Sadly, the regulators don’t care. They expect flawless compliance, and they hit you hard if you get it wrong.
The UK Government, addressing a £131bn deficit, is intensifying AML enforcement to bolster public finances and close the gap. AML penalties have exploded, with fines increasing year-on-year for over a decade. In 2024 alone, it’s estimated that more than £52m in penalties to small businesses were issued for AML breaches.
Are You 100% Confident You Would Pass an AML Regulatory Audit?
Consider this: Could you confidently pass an unannounced AML compliance check tomorrow, with regulators scrutinising your documentation and interrogating your staff?
If you’re not 100% confident, you MUST resolve these issues urgently. A single lapse, such as incomplete customer due diligence (CDD), delayed Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), or an inadequate Firm-Wide Risk Assessment—could trigger catastrophic outcomes:
• Unlimited Fines: Under Regulation 76 of MLR2017, regulators can impose fines scaled to your turnover. In 2023/24, a high-value dealer faced a £1.9 million HMRC penalty.
• Revocation of Authorisation or Registration: Regulators can withdraw authorisation or cancel AML registration, prohibiting you from trading legally and halting operations.
• Public Censure: Regulators publish non-compliance details, inflicting severe reputational damage. Public exposure can erode client trust irreparably.
• Bank De-risking: Financial institutions may freeze your accounts, restrict transactions, or terminate relationships, and sever your cash flow.
• Personal Liability: Under Regulation 86 of the MLRs, you—as a director, sole trader, or partner—face personal fines or bans from managing businesses.
• Criminal Prosecution: Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), facilitating money laundering, even unknowingly, can lead to up to seven years’ imprisonment and unlimited fines.
Regulatory scrutiny has significantly increased YoY, with AML inspections becoming increasingly forensic.
If your firm hasn't undergone a review for 18-36 months, your likelihood of an unannounced, comprehensive inspection may escalate.
Worryingly, approximately 70% of firms inspected by UK Regulatory Authorities were found to be "not fully compliant” with AML regulations.
Delaying your AML compliance is a dangerous gamble. Regulators are intensifying scrutiny, with severe consequences for inaction. A small solicitor’s firm was fined £77,000 for minor AML lapses in which they were “non-compliant for three years” even though no criminal activity took place.
AML Compliance Experts: Helping You Avoid Regulatory Penalties
Sadly, the guidance the regulators give for AML compliance is farcical.
Regulators demand robust AML frameworks but offer minimal practical guidance. They expect you to maintain comprehensive Firm-Wide Risk Assessments and Policies and Procedures, yet provide no clear blueprint. A single error can expose you to severe penalties, with no leniency for your focus on running a successful business.
We’re here to help. AML Compliance Experts was created to help small businesses avoid AML penalties. We have over 250 years of combined AML expertise for a fraction of the cost of a top 4 consulting firm.
We provide tailored, cost-effective solutions—to ensure compliance with the MLRs,
POCA (Proceeds of Crime Act 2002), and supervisory standards.
Let’s be clear: delaying your AML compliance could cost you dearly. Severe penalties and reputational damage are very real risks if you don’t act now. With regulators cracking down harder than ever, it’s critical to reach out as soon as possible. Early action can significantly reduce your exposure to fines and protect your business from the fallout of non-compliance.
Please pick up the phone now and call me so I can help you - 07816 909638.
I look forward to speaking with you shortly.
Grant Judd
Managing Partner
Call Right Now: +44 (0)7816 909638
Grant Judd
Managing Partner
AML Compliance Experts
