Today’s Conveyancer – Suspicious Activity Reports: What you need to know

The National Crime Agency (NCA) have released updated guidance on submitting a better quality Suspicious Activity Report (SAR), making it a good time to revisit what they are and why they’re so important.

A SAR alerts law enforcement to potential instances of money laundering or terrorist financing. In conveyancing, one of the most likely reasons to report a SAR would be upon identifying several high-risk factors when reviewing Source of Funds (SOF) and Source Wealth (SOW) reports.

Irrespective of whether you end the retainer or not, in order to benefit from a defence under section 330 of POCA, you must make an internal SAR to your money laundering reporting officer (MLRO) as soon as practical on forming knowledge or suspicion of money laundering.

Read more here.