11 April 2022

Woodcock Notary Public’s stance against financial abuse

Recent global developments and sanctions have meant firms like us have had to adapt to stricter financial checks.

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Recently, there have been efforts made across the world to deter the Russian Government from continuing with its invasion of Ukraine. Many actions taken have involved the implementation of economic sanctions against the Russian state and those with close links to it.

Sanctions made by the UK against the Russian government can be seen here, while the individuals with sanctions imposed on them can be seen on the UK’s sanction list.

All notaries, like Woodcock Notary Public, have a responsibility to ensure that they are not party to illicit economic activity. They have obligations when doing the following:

Receiving legal fees
Transferring ownership of UK property and
Submitting suspicious activity reports.

Of course, this has an impact on the way Woodcock Law & Notary Public is able to serve its clients. The regulations mean we have to take extra care when providing certain services as some of them can be targeted for money laundering.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has published guidelines to make Notaries aware of the specific actions to take when faced with potentially unlawful economic activity.

Economic Crime Bill

The UK Government has also recently introduced fresh legislation to combat economic crime. The new rules, introduced by the Economic Crime Bill, aim to achieve three principal goals. These are:

To increase transparency of ownership of land and property in the UK
To make it easier to prosecute people for breaching sanctions
To overhaul unexplained wealth orders (UWO).

Some of these aims relate directly to the kind of services we provide. We always take the necessary steps to ensure all the services we provide are done in good faith and in accordance with all the guidelines and regulations.