Firms authorised under Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) who we supervise under the Money Laundering Regulations must tell us if they carry out certain activities. Find out who this applies to and how to tell us.
The Money Laundering Regulations 2017[2] came into force on 26 June 2017 and update the UK’s anti-money laundering (AML) regime. Regulation 23 requires authorised persons to inform us if they are undertaking Money Service Business (MSB) or Trust or Company Service (TCSP) activities.
Who needs to report
The reporting requirement only applies to firms who are authorised under FSMA and supervised by us under the Money Laundering Regulations.
It does not apply to:
- E-money institutions.
- Certain firms authorised by us as a consumer credit firm who carry out MSB activity (outlined below). This only applies to firms whose business model falls within the definition of an ‘exempt money service business’ in Regulation 7(5) of the MLRs[3].
- Authorised professional firms. Such firms are supervised for AML compliance by their relevant professional firm.
Authorised firms carrying out MSB or TCSP activity must tell us within 28 days if you:
- Begin this activity after 26 June 2017.
- Stop providing either of these services.
How to report
To notify us about:
- MSB activity, email [email protected].
- TCSP activity, email [email protected].
Include your firm name and firm reference number in the subject line of your email.
What are MSB and TCSP activities?
Money service business
MSB activities are:
- money transmission
- currency exchange
- cheque cashing
Currency exchange could involve running a bureau de change to buy or sell back their holiday money through to the sale or purchase of wholesale currency with businesses.
To check if you are an MSB, see the HMRC guidance[4].
For more on money transmission, see our Handbook on the perimeter of the Payment Services Regulations[5].
Trust or company service provider
TCSP activities include:
- Trust and /or company formation agents.
- Providing registered offices, business addresses, accommodation or correspondence addresses, or mail forwarding services to businesses (other than those run by sole proprietors).
- Any individual or company:
- Providing nominee director services, nominee company secretary services or nominee shareholder services – or other similar services.
- Arranging for another person to act as a director, company secretary, partner or professional trustee.
- Offering professional trustee services (unless they relate to certain low-risk trusts) and providing their services as nominee shareholder (unless they’re acting for a company whose securities are listed on a regulated market).
- Any company providing their services as a company director, company secretary, or partner to another company (unless the other company is a member of the same group).
- Any individual providing their services as a nominee director or nominee company secretary; company director, company secretary or partner to certain high-risk businesses.
HMRC provides detailed guidance[6] which you can use to help you decide whether you need to report.
