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U.K. Eyes Dropping Criminal Penalties for AML Failures by Banks, Lawyers

By Brian Monroe

The United Kingdom's HM Treasury is considering changes to its anti-money laundering regulations, including whether to decriminalize failures to properly collect and retain customer due diligence data, according to a British legal group. The review is part of a broader effort by the U.K. government to potentially "abolish over two dozen" anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, and "exempt businesses with very low turnovers," according to a 126-page plan published by the Treasury and the U.K. Department of Business Innovation & Skills. The possible changes are intended to strengthen risk-based compliance while lowering costs for businesses, according to the document. The move...

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