Business

Accountants in north warned about money laundering signals

Accountants in the north are being warned to look out for money laundering
Accountants in the north are being warned to look out for money laundering Accountants in the north are being warned to look out for money laundering

ACCOUNTANTS’ 'professional scepticism' is the first line of defence in tackling money laundering and terrorist financing, according to guidance issued in Northern Ireland by the anti-money laundering task force of CCAB, the collective forum of accountancy bodies including ACCA and Chartered Accountants Ireland.

The advice lists a number of red flags which accountants and finance professionals need to be aware of - from wire transfers following cash deposits to negative media coverage about the client or company.

Anthony Harbinson, chair of the CCAB task force and director of safer communities at the Northern Ireland Department of Justice said: Funding terrorist activity is not necessarily expensive, with small amounts of money often financing such crimes.

"And it is for this reason that accountants need to be hyper-vigilant and aware of the pitfalls which may not always be so obvious – hence the need to apply professional scepticism and judgement, and be aware of the warning signs.

“The fact that we are not looking at large amounts of money changing hands makes terrorist financing that much more difficult for an accountant to spot, but not impossible. It’s often so called ‘low level or ‘low risk’ activities that fund crime and terrorism - DVD pirating, counterfeiting, cigarette smuggling or credit card fraud.”

The brief guides are timely given following a recent report from Transparency International which revealed the lack of powers available to law enforcement agencies to stop corrupt money being laundered in Northern Ireland and across the rest of the UK. This report was issued when news broke that the Government has delayed its review into the UK’s anti-money laundering regime.

Mr Harbinson adde: “Accountants have a legal obligation to report any suspicions of terrorism, including terrorist financing, to the National Crime Agency (NCA). This system provides the NCA with valuable intelligence that can help them disrupt terrorist funding and terrorist activity.

"It’s clear that accountants cannot do this alone; we need to work with the legal profession, Government and other agencies to beat the money launderers.”