On 12th March, Mondo Visione published the transcript of a speech by the Director of Specialist Supervision at the FCA on the role of the Office for Professional Body AML Supervision (OPBAS). Amongst the highlights, she said that OPBAS has completed its first-year assessment of the 22 professional bodies it supervises, and found that the accountancy sector and some smaller professional bodies are focused on representing their members rather than strongly supervising standards. It also found that not enough professional bodies are sharing intelligence on money laundering risks, and that nearly a quarter of the professional bodies undertook no form of supervision. She said that it is a step forward that all professional body supervisors have strategies and action plans in place, and if delivered they will make a big difference to the tackling of money laundering in the UK. She said that what was wanted was to see an improved quantity and quality of supervision, enforcement and intelligence sharing outcomes. OPBAS will continue to work with professional body supervisors to help build intelligence sharing networks and promote good practices.
The OPBAS report is available at –
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