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Our AML and digital compliance solutions are trusted by 1 in 3 of the UK’s top 200 legal firms. Ensure that your AML checks are thorough and fully compliant with SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) regulations, whilst performing KYC & KYB checks in seconds. Benefit from unparalleled accuracy, achieving a 97% match and pass rate, surpassing industry standards.
As The Law Society says, ‘compliance with money laundering obligations is one of the greatest challenges for solicitors in the UK today’. Anti Money laundering checks for solicitors can be an expensive, time-consuming task with up to a quarter of regulated firms taking a week to perform a manual check. Manual checks can also often prove inaccurate, as they’re open to human error.
Our award-winning AML platform is the most efficient and cost-effective way of carrying out money laundering checks for solicitors. We offer one of the only AML solutions with full sanction checks and PEP screening and ongoing monitoring. Our electronic verification is fast and reliable allowing you to perform an individual AML check in just 2 seconds. All our checks are automatically saved, so you can retrieve them on demand for audits and regulatory visits. New and existing clients can be onboarded in bulk, so you remain compliant at all times.
*Electronic Verification Uncovered II
There are a wide range of processes that need to be covered during anti money laundering checks for solicitors. Our robust AML system covers standard as well as advanced due diligence and security checks including:
- KYC and Due Diligence Checks: Know Your Customer Checks and Due Diligence Checks are an essential part of verifying the identity of your customers and the legitimacy of their funds. CDD acts as an ongoing protective process that continues to monitor customers and assess any potential risks to your legal firm.
- PEP Screening: Part of the more enhanced due diligence process, this screening process identifies politically exposed persons or PEPS who are at a greater risk of fraud or being involved in financial crime.
- Source of Funds Checks: As part of the AML checking process we can provide Source of Funds checks which assess the funds provided by clients to determine the legitimacy and authenticity of their financial transactions.
AML compliance is essential for maintaining the integrity and reputation of your legal firm as well as meeting regulatory requirements. Implementing our robust SmartSearch AML solicitors checks helps to:
- Reduce Risk: Avoid illicit activity that could expose your business to crime and criminal liability by screening their clients and transactions.
- Protect Your Reputation: A company's most precious asset is its reputation and even accidental involvement in money-laundering or illegal transactions can harm a company's reputation. AML significantly reduces this risk.
- Enhanced Client Relationships: Robust anti-money laundering protocols can help to enhance a client's faith in a company and their services.
From KYC and sanctions screening to ongoing monitoring – you can access all our AML services in the holistic SmartSearch platform, but we know that flexibility is important. That’s why SmartSearch can integrate these products into your law firm’s software directly, to make AML checks for solicitors even easier, using existing files.
Our user-friendly app will even grant you access to these services when you’re out of the office, so you can verify your client’s identity on the go, and receive automated alerts to any change in their status.
The international corporate reports are brilliant, we would never be able to find the information on our clients as quickly or as easily as we do through SmartSearch. It is returned as a nice, easy to read PDF report with all the information clearly laid out, along with any PEP & Sanction matches Daniel Ayden
The international corporate reports are brilliant, we would never be able to find the information on our clients as quickly or as easily as we do through SmartSearch. It is returned as a nice, easy to read PDF report with all the information clearly laid out, along with any PEP & Sanction matches
A number of other integrations based on RESTful APIs have been built but none so smoothly as SmartSearch. Their API, the accompanying (very detailed) documentation and the support received from Carl Chadwick and his colleagues is a country-mile ahead of others. James Hood Head of IT
A number of other integrations based on RESTful APIs have been built but none so smoothly as SmartSearch. Their API, the accompanying (very detailed) documentation and the support received from Carl Chadwick and his colleagues is a country-mile ahead of others.
Short for designated non-financial businesses and professions, DNFBP is the acronym used to describe the additional occupations and industries which are legally obliged to comply with AML regulations, but don’t fit into the financial sector. Solicitors are a DNFBP, but so are estate agents, casinos, dealers in precious metals or stones, company service providers, tax advisors and external accountants.
Solicitors and law firms are often just as vulnerable to money laundering and other forms of financial crime as businesses in the financial services sector. The Financial Action Task Force therefore requires that solicitors meet AML regulations and carry out anti money laundering checks – this is monitored by the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority).
Documents used to verify identity in AML checks must be certified by a reliable source. Some of the people who are qualified to certify these documents are: qualified lawyers or attorneys, accountants, licensed conveyancers, employees of the Homes and Communities Agency, and British Embassy or consulate staff.
Large sums of money, cross-border transactions, or clients from nations with significant risks of terrorism or corruption are characteristics of high-risk transactions. Purchasing real estate, forming trusts and companies, providing financial management and legal services are typical high-risk industries.
The Law Society is officially named as the supervisory authority for solicitors and law firms, but it has passed on all regulatory duties to the SRA, or Solicitors Regulation Authority. The SRA therefore monitors the compliance of solicitors and law firms in accordance with AML regulations.
Serious consequences, such as hefty fines, criminal prosecutions, and reputational harm, can arise from failing to meet AML requirements. Partners and staff members of the company can occasionally be held personally accountable and a fraud or failure to comply can significantly damage the reputation of a company.
The AML advice for the legal services industry is based on guidance published by the Legal Sector Affinity Group in 2018, as well as the 5th Money Laundering Directive, which arrived in January 2020. The compliance process includes carrying out a wide range of AML checks for solicitors, like sanctions and PEP screening, as well as checking for adverse media, performing ongoing monitoring and implementing a risk-based approach.
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