Anti-money laundering at Middleton Ross
A guide to helping our clients understand our anti-money laundering obligations and how we manage this at Middleton Ross.
When engaging with Middleton Ross for any of our services, you will be asked to provide certain documentation to prove your identity and, if necessary, evidence of the source of funds that will be used to complete your transaction, for example when purchasing a property.
These checks can feel like an unnecessary procedure, but please let us explain why they are important and what we have in place to carry out these checks securely.
Money laundering is when the true origin of illegally obtained money is concealed and used to buy goods and services including property. Funds from money laundering are used to fund terrorism, weapons trading, and other criminal activities. It is vital as a firm that we carry out our due diligence, to the standards set by our regulators, for all transactions we carry out. This means we need to collate the necessary documentation for every transaction we do to evidence that we have carried out the appropriate checks and procedures.
When you carry out a transaction with us, you will be required to produce two forms of identity. One will be photographic identification, normally a passport or driving licence. The other will be to prove your current address, which is usually a utility bill that has been sent to your address within the last 3 months. If your transaction requires us to handle funds, then we are required to carry out a source of funds check, and this is when we ask you to evidence where the money for your purchase has come from for example if you are using funds from a pension lump sum then we would ask to see evidence of this.
In 2022 we partnered with Amiqus, a digital verification tool that allows our clients to complete the required evidence via a secure portal. Clients can upload their documentation to the portal, and this is verified by Amiqus to ensure authenticity. Clients that are required to show evidence of the source of funds can use the secure open banking technology via Amiqus which is regulated by the financial conduct authority (FCA) to prove where the funds have originated from. Amiqus allows our clients to complete the above checks from the comfort of their own home or whilst on the go with their mobile devices. Once complete, these checks are sent directly to the solicitor or our property manager for approval, saving the client time and the need to visit our office with documentation.
Look out for our next blog post which will show a more in-depth look at Amiqus and some of the FAQs surrounding the use of Amiqus.
In the meantime, If you have any questions regarding Amiqus then please contact us.
