If the SRA wants to improve the quality of solicitors’ suspicious activity reports, it must convince them of the regime’s effectiveness
Whatever doubts solicitors may entertain about the value of the UK anti-money laundering regime, City firms need to polish up their reporting systems. The message is clear. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is on the warpath over the poor quality of suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by solicitors and it has large corporate firms in its sights. However, unless solicitors are persuaded that filing SARs is likely to assist in the detection of serious crime, stricter enforcement will serve only to engender resentment in an already over-regulated profession.
