Another round of POCA

The arrival of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the imminent expansion of the regulated sector under the Money Laundering Regulations 2003, which will give effect to the second EC Money Laundering Directive in the UK, have led to consternation among professionals as Timon Molloy discovered when he attended the British Bankers’ Association’s “Update on the Proceeds of Crime Act” conference in London on 10 April.

NCIS focus

“We’re not seeing improved disclosure quality but rather defensive reporting and frightened compliance [since the money laundering provisions in Part VII of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 came into force on 24 February 2003]. Hopefully this will settle down and we’ll see higher quality next year,” Fiona Nicolson, an Intelligence Officer with the Economic Crime Branch (ECB) of the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS – the UK’s financial intelligence unit) told delegates