HMRC issued over £1.6M in fines to Estate Agents

HMRC has announced (28 March 2024) that 254 estate agency businesses have been fined a total of over £1.6m for failing to register, or re-register with them for Anti Money Laundering (AML).  The fines range from £1,500 to over £50,000.

HMRC have published a follow up list outlining where estate agents have received financial penalties for breaches of the legislation.  These will include an absence of firm-wide documentation, incomplete or incorrect Customer Due Diligence (CDD) within the required timeframe and a lack of recognition of specific risks such as the value of property, High Risk Jurisdictions, Politically Exposed Persons (PEP’s), Companies, Trusts and Sanctions.  

HMRC’s follow up list of further penalties will originate from its inspections, many of which will have been made on-site.