EQUIFAX WARNS BUSINESSES THAT RE-VERIFICATION OF EXISTING CUSTOMERS IS KEY TO WINNING THE MONEY LAUNDERING WAR
Leading information provider, Equifax, is warning financial organisations that the burden of money laundering on businesses will not be reduced until processes to verify the identity of existing customers are embraced. The call follows an announcement from the FSA that it is withdrawing proposals to introduce an industry wide requirement, for all regulated firms, to undertake a specific anti-money laundering ‘Current Customer Review’.
Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director for Equifax explains: “It is vital that businesses are confident that they have set in place the right measures to reduce the risk of money laundering. The re-verification of existing customers, who were taken on before the Money Laundering Regulation came into force in 1994, is key to this. Best practice does not begin with the application of a new customer, but with an assessment of an existing book of business, including the validity of a customer’s identity.”
The FSA stressed that its decision to not introduce a mandatory industry-wide requirement did not absolve firms from their existing anti-money laundering responsibilities. Carol Sergeant, Managing Director, FSA said: “Each firm must satisfy itself that its systems are appropriate for dealing with money-laundering risks arising if they have not identified existing customers adequately. We take this opportunity to stress to all regulated firms that the need to identify your customers is an existing legal and regulatory obligation and considered by law enforcement agencies and the FSA to be an essential element of anti-money laundering controls.”
Concludes Munroe: “Many businesses are already implementing cost effective, sound propositions, as a result of the FSA’s review of anti-money laundering procedures. We will continue to encourage businesses to reassess their own practices, to ensure they meet existing legal and regulatory obligations.“
The Equifax Anti-Money Laundering services offer a full range of generic and bespoke solutions to meet a company’s anti-money laundering requirements for both personal and commercial customers.
