AML news

Readers will know that accountants in practice, as designated persons under Irish anti-money laundering legislation, have a statutory obligation to report suspicious transactions to both the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of An Garda Síochána and the Irish Revenue Commissioners. In February 2025 Chartered Accountants Ireland hosted a webinar on suspicious transaction reporting when the Professional Accountancy team were joined by representatives of both An Garda Síochána and the Revenue Commissioners. They provided an overview of how to report on the recently updated FIU GoAML system, as well as the Revenue system. Click the link to access the webinar  https://youtu.be/SL_h9msVwJo. Also available now are details of some of the questions and potential answers  which were discussed at the webinar. This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.

In July 2025 the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published revised guidance for firms on the treatment of politically exposed persons for anti-money laundering purposes. Guidance is provided on how to apply a proportionate and risk-based approach to UK Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), their relatives and close associates for anti-money laundering purposes. The guidance includes: - clarifications that firms should not treat non-executive board members (NEBM) of civil service departments in the UK as PEPs; - changes to reflect amendments made to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 and - updates to the sign-offs for PEP business relationships.   This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.    

From the Professional Accountancy team... In June 2025 the EU Commission updated its list of high-risk jurisdictions which present strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regimes. Click for a press release and here for a  copy of the delegated regulation (which delegated act enters into force if the European Parliament or the Council of the EU do not object to it, during the scrutiny period which generally lasts 2 months ). The following countries have been added to the list: Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal and Venezuela The following countries have been removed from the list: Barbados, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates. This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.  

In April 2025 Accountancy Europe issued its publication “New EU AML rules: advice for accountancy practitioners”. The document “…outlines  concrete steps for accountancy practices, national institutes of accountants, auditors and advisors to take to be ready when the EU anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation takes effect in 2027….”   This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.

Accountancy Europe has in recent months issued a factsheet entitled “Navigating the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation: Key Issues for the Accountancy Profession”.The factsheet highlights the key changes introduced by the new AML Regulation passed in Europe in 2024 and emphasises the importance of early preparation for these upcoming changes. Please click the link above to access the factsheet and here to preview the publication’s key insights on their website .

The goAML system for making suspicious transaction reports (STRs) which the Irish Financial Intelligence Unit administers, is being upgraded. The upgrade is scheduled to go live the week of 10 February 2025. The FIU is carrying out internal training and there may be delays in processing STRs during this upgrade period. Firms registered on goAML will have received a communication from the FIU about the upgrade and in particular how to make urgent STRs during the upgrade period. Please click here to view further details from the FIU.   This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.

                                                                                      ALERT ABOUT PAYMENT DIVERSION FRAUD                                                                                                                      January 2025 This bulletin has been produced by the Joint Practice Group (JPG). The JPG is made up of representatives of the professional accountancy bodies, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Chartered Accountants Ireland, Association of International Accountants, and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants with input from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and FIU Ireland. The aim of this publication is to remind professional accountants and their staff to exercise continued vigilance in the face of payment diversion fraud. Members are reminded that payment diversion fraud is still a significant threat to business and members and their staff must educate and protect themselves and their business from such fraud. FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), show that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lost almost €10m (€9.9m) through email-related fraud in 2023, including invoice-redirection and CEO impersonation scams with BPFI saying they have seen a jump of almost 25% (23.8%) in email-related fraud targeted at SMEs in 2023. Please click here to access Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) Advice on Invoice Redirect Fraud issued in 2020 and here to access a series of press releases issued by GNECB FIU Ireland during Fraud Awareness Week 2022. The press releases deal with what is and how to avoid business e mail compromise fraud, bribery and corruption, investment fraud, accommodation fraud and account takeover fraud.    Disclaimer This document is for information purposes only and does not give, or purport to give, professional or legal advice to be relied upon in respect of the subject matter contained herein. It should, accordingly, not be relied upon as such. No party should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any material contained in this document without seeking appropriate professional advice. The authors nor any member of the JPG do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained in this document. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the authors nor any member of the JPG shall not therefore be liable for any damage or loss, including but not limited to, indirect or consequential loss or damage, income, profit, or opportunity and claims of third parties, whether arising from the negligence, or otherwise of the members of the JPG, their employees, servants, or agents, or of the authors who contributed to the text.  This document should not be used as a substitute for professional legal advice.

The Failure to Prevent Fraud offence was introduced in section 199 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). The Act provides that the Secretary of State must issue guidance about procedures before the provisions come into force. This guidance to organisations on the offence of failure to prevent fraud has now been issued (as  of 6 ,November 2024). The guidance states that the offence will come into effect nine months after the publication of this guidance, to allow organisations to develop and implement their fraud prevention procedures. A reminder of what the Failure to Prevent Fraud offence is. The legislation will apply to large organisations where an associate of the organisation commits any of the offences listed in schedule 13 of the ECCTA (for example, cheating the public revenue or false accounting) with the intention of benefitting the organisation and the organisation did not have in place reasonable fraud prevention procedures. The large organisations to which the legislation will apply align with the thresholds in the Companies Act 2006. In short, a large organisation is one satisfying two or more of the following conditions: turnover of more than £36 million; balance sheet total of more than £18 million; or more than 250 employees. Readers should be mindful that there are proposals to uplift the monetary thresholds under company law. This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.  

Introduction Readers will know that sanctions are adopted at EU level but may or may not be aware that enforcement relies on member states amongst which definitions of sanctions violation and associated penalties vary. These inconsistencies led to a concern in the EU about undermining of the EU sanctions regime and that potential offenders would deliberately act in jurisdictions where penalties were lighter. Click here for a briefing document by the EU Parliament which wrote ”…The significant differences between national systems, particularly in terms of offences and penalties for breaches of EU sanctions, are thought to weaken their efficacy and the EU's credibility….”  On 24 April 2024 the European Union adopted a directive to harmonise criminal offences for violation of EU sanctions. (the “Directive”). Click here for a link to a European Parliament press release on the Directive. The Directive was introduced to limit sanctions circumvention and to tighten enforcement. The Directive provides a common definition of what constitutes a violation of EU sanctions and provides for penalties for the violation of European Union restrictive measures. The Directive provides for criminalisation for an intentional violation of sanctions but also where there is serious negligence in the circumstances set out in the Directive. It also criminalises attempted violations. What constitutes a criminal offence and exemptions? Article 3 sets out conduct constituting a criminal offence. These include failing to freeze funds, not respecting travel bans or goods embargoes, transferring funds to persons subject to sanctions, or doing business with state-owned entities of countries under sanction. Providing financial services in violation of sanctions will also become a punishable offence. Inciting, aiding, or abetting the commission of offences is also a criminal offence. Member states can exempt conduct from criminal sanction for violations involving funds, economic resources, goods, services, transactions, or activities of a value of less than €10,000.  An exemption is also given for legal professionals regarding information obtained while ascertaining the legal position of a client or defending or representing judicial proceedings. There is also an exemption for providing humanitarian assistance. Penalties The Directive provides for prison sentences and fines. It also includes measures such as withdrawal of permits and authorisations, disqualifications, and temporary bans on running for public office. For natural persons penalties can be between one and five years’ imprisonment depending on the seriousness of the offence. The Directive also provides for liability and penalties for legal persons. Maximum fines can be from 1% to 5% of worldwide turnover of a legal person, depending on the offence. Directive on combatting money laundering by criminal law (2018/1673) amended The definition of criminal activity is amended in this directive to add the violation of Union restrictive measures as a new criminal activity. Entry into force The Directive enters into force on 19 May 2024 and member states have until 20 May 2025 to implement it into national law. This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.  

The European Parliament has recently adopted a package of laws strengthening the EU’s toolkit to fight money-laundering and terrorist financing. The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism package consists of a directive and two regulations. These are the sixth Anti-Money Laundering directive, the EU “single rulebook” regulation and the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) regulation. Click here for a press release from the European Parliament on the package and here to access the Institute’s dedicated pages on anti-money laundering which have recently been updated to include a page dedicated to European Union developments. We understand from the press release that the laws still need to be formally adopted by the European Council before publication in the EU’s Official Journal. There will also be a process of translation of text and the expectation is that publication of the text will occur in the Official Journal between July and September of 2024. This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.  

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023, and the provisions of the Act are starting to be applied. We have prepared an information booklet entitled The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 – Changes in Companies House outlining the first set of changes introduced by Companies House on 4 March 2024.  These include: 1. new rules for registered office addresses; 2. a requirement for all companies to supply a registered email address; and 3. new lawful purpose statements The Act gives Companies House, along with the Registrar of Companies for Scotland and the Registrar of Companies for Northern Ireland, the power to play a more significant role in tackling economic crime and supporting economic growth. Over time, its measures will lead to improved transparency and more accurate and trusted information on its registers.  These changes will apply to incorporated entities, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships. They will also apply to their members and directors. 

The UK Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (Regulation 1371/2023) which took effect on 10 January 2024, provides that for the purpose of assessing risk, the starting point is that domestic (i.e.UK) PEPs present a lower level of risk than non-domestic PEPs .If no enhanced risk factors are present, the extent of enhanced customer due diligence measures to be applied in relation to that customer or potential customer is less than the extent to be applied in the case of a non-domestic PEP. A parliamentary statement on lower risk of domestic PEPs explains the change is to ensure that relevant persons take a proportionate and risk-based approach to the treatment of domestic PEPs, and to allay concerns that a number of holders of prominent public positions and their family have encountered problems accessing financial services due to their status as Politically Exposed Persons. This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.