South Yorkshire Police issue money laundering warning to Sheffield businesses

In a ‘day of action,' South Yorkshire Police and HM Revenue & Customs joined forces to visit Money Service Businesses (MSBs), which are deemed to be at risk of being used by criminals to launder money.

They visited over 20 businesses providing educational information about the risks within the sector and reminding them of their regulatory responsibilities.

Money Service Businesses is the legal term used by financial regulators to describe businesses that transmit or convert money.

They have been identified as being at risk of being used for money laundering because they trade in high volumes of cash and the ability to convert denominations, currencies or transfer money electronically are all useful to those seeking to launder money.

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Temporary Detective Sergeant Paul Douglas, from South Yorkshire Police's Financial Crime Investigation Unit, said: “We know that MSBs are a prime target for, and are particularly vulnerable to, cash based money laundering and criminals often try to exploit these services to commit money laundering. As such, it’s important that people who work in these types of companies take the necessary precautions to stop it from happening.

“Money laundering forms a vital part of how criminal networks are able to operate, and by working with the HMRC to expose and disrupt these activities in Sheffield, as well as educate MSBs on the red flags, we will ultimately prevent very serious crimes from being committed.”

Matt Touzel, of HMRC, added: “The Money Laundering Regulations place robust and uncompromising obligations on Money Service Businesses to have appropriate policies, controls and procedures in place to protect themselves from criminals seeking to exploit them. MSBs must be vigilant in identifying those who seek to exploit them and comply in full with their obligations. We remain committed to helping MSBs who want to comply with the regulations whilst rigorously rooting out and tackling those who don’t.

“We have a vigorous programme of compliance inspections where we check that MSBs are complying with their anti-money laundering obligations and we take a robust approach to those who don’t comply.”