Nearly 70 estate agents under the spotlight over ‘dirty cash’ compliance failures

Propertymark is scrutinizing five of its members on the HMRC’s list of firms which failed to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

The newly published list reveals that 68 agents were issued penalties for failing to comply between 1st January and 31st March totalling over £500,000, five of which belong to the agents’ trade body.

Breaches include failing to apply for registration at the right time, failure to carry out risk assessments, and have the correct policies, controls and procedures in place, conducting due diligence and record keeping.

Propertymark says it has beefed up its compliance team to support its members, providing regular reminders about responsibility and liability, updates on HMRC and Trading Standards enforcement and penalties, and information on data protection.

Minefield

A spokesman adds: “Propertymark knows that compliance can be a minefield for both lettings and sales agents and legislation is constantly changing so its visits from its compliance team have proven to be invaluable to its members.

Propertymark undertakes visits in person and is currently undergoing development to get their team members out and about more frequently to review and support the procedures agents have in place.”

It aims to visit members at least once every five years and unlike HMRC or Trading Standards, gives firms a minimum of 10 working days’ notice.

All estate agents and certain letting agency businesses must be registered with HMRC for anti-money laundering. Agents should have procedures in place to detect suspicious activity and prevent money laundering to reduce the risk that criminals could target and exploit them for financial crime.

Read the full list of all firms not complying with AML regulations, including the 68 agents.