Regulation 46A – The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (Amended)
The Law Society of Northern Ireland (‘the Society’) is the statutory regulator and professional body for the solicitors’ profession in Northern Ireland. The Society is responsible for regulating professional standards and the propriety of solicitors’ professional conduct in general, to maintain the independence, ethical standards, professional competence and quality of services offered to the public.
The Society’s overriding principle in exercising its regulatory function is to regulate in the public interest, with the aim of protecting the public.
The Society is the professional body supervisor and sole designated supervisory authority under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (Amended) (‘the MLRs’) for the solicitors’ profession in Northern Ireland.
Money laundering is a global issue which impacts local communities. Legal professionals are among the vital gatekeepers to the legitimate economy. The Society recognises that the effective Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) work undertaken by solicitor firms in Northern Ireland is essential to ensure that the proceeds of crime are not introduced into the wider economy.
The Society as the sole AML professional body supervisor for solicitors in Northern Ireland, is committed to fulfilling its statutory functions as an effective professional body supervisor and supervisory authority under the MLRs and to assist firms in meeting their obligations under the said regulations.
The Society also exercises other co-regulatory functions, with a remit across a total of approximately 440 solicitors’ firms in Northern Ireland.
This is the Society’s fourth published annual report as part of its responsibilities as an AML/CTF professional body supervisor and its duty to report information to HM Treasury and the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) under Regulation 46A of the MLRs.
For this purpose, the Society is reporting on the period 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024.
