Anti-money laundering and fighting financial crime

And with very good reason too.

Fraud

Fraudsters are becoming ever more ingenious with the scams they are coming up with and following the almost universal use of email communication and the internet to conduct business, there are more and more opportunities for criminals to commit identity fraud.

You would not want to shut up your house for six months and go abroad to find upon your return that someone has successfully managed to impersonate you and sell your house in your absence and pocket the net free proceeds!

So please do not take offence when you are asked for some straightforward documents to enable a third party to appropriately establish your identity.

Proving your identity 

Normally you will be asked for a government issued document which will establish that you are who you say you are, with appropriate photographic evidence such as a passport or a driver's licence.

This will usually be fortified with the production of a current utility bill which would establish your current address.

But establishing your identity is often only one stage of the process.

Anti-money laundering 

The anti-money laundering regulations are specifically designed to ensure that funds obtained through illegal means are not flushed through the open marketplace thus rendering these funds, on the face of it, clean.

It would be commonplace, therefore for you to be asked about the source of any funds or the source of any wealth, in the event that you are putting down a deposit for a new property.

Criminals obtain illegal funds through activities such as drug running, extortion, prostitution and tax evasion. They are constantly looking for ways to convert such funds, usually in cash into seemingly legitimate form.

You may have generated your deposit through the sale of a property, an inheritance, a win on the lottery or even through your own earnings. You may have received it by way of gift. If so, you will certainly be asked about the Donor and how they accumulated their wealth and they too would require to be properly identified.

If the source of your wealth is legitimate, you should have no difficulty in providing satisfactory evidence.

The Regulations are there for your protection and to discourage financial crime.

So the next time that you are asked to provide identification or a polite enquiry is made about the source of your funds, relax and take a deep breath- the request is made with the best possible intentions and ultimately for your own benefit.