Client Type: Organisations

What’s occurring?

With increasing numbers of people finding themselves a victim of Authorised Push Payment fraud (“APP”), the impact is increasingly being felt by both consumers and Payment Service Providers (“PSPs”). APP is the largest type of fraud in the UK both by victim and value of losses. It is also exponentially growing and showing no signs of stopping.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) requires banks and other businesses in the regulated sector to report knowledge or suspicion of money laundering to the National Crime Agency (“NCA”) (indeed it is an offence not to make a required disclosure without reasonable excuse). These reports are commonly known as Suspicious Activity Reports (“SARs”). Separately, any person can seek a defence against committing a money laundering offence by making an authorised disclosure to the NCA (known as ‘Defence Against Money Laundering’ (“DAMLs”). [1]

The SARs regime is at the heart of the UK’s fight against money laundering and terrorist financing with nearly one million SARs submitted per year. Crucially, SARs are highly confidential, and this is critical to the effective operation of the reporting regime. There may be limited situations which call for the disclosure of SARs such as in private civil proceedings, but which is the overriding obligation – the obligation of confidentiality or disclosure?