The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLR2017) require the IAB to approve any Beneficial Owner, Officer or Managers (referred to as a BOOM – as defined below) of an IAB supervised firm/practice.
The IAB will not approve any BOOM who has been convicted of a relevant offence as defined by Schedule 3 of the MLR2017 (listed here). It is a criminal offence, punishable by up to a two year custodial sentence and/or financial penalty, to hold a position as a BOOM with a relevant unspent conviction.
An IAB supervised firm or practitioner must take reasonable steps to ensure that no one is appointed to be, or continues to act as, a BOOM who has a relevant unspent criminal conviction.
In order to comply, the IAB requires all BOOMs in supervised firms to complete a basic criminal record check via the relevant organisation, depending on where they live and work:
- Disclosure and Barring Service in England and Wales;
- Access NI in Northern Ireland; and
- Disclosure Scotland in Scotland.
Members in Practice have an ongoing duty to inform the IAB if a BOOM is appointed to their firm/practice, and to confirm that the appropriate criminal record check has been conducted with satisfactory result.
Members must take reasonable ongoing steps to ensure that BOOMs declare any subsequent relevant convictions to an appointed person within the firm.
Should a firm be made aware that a BOOM has a relevant conviction, the IAB must be notified of the fact within 30 days by emailing membership@iab.org.uk.
- a partner, or LLP member, in a firm who:
- holds (directly or indirectly) more than 25% of the capital, or profits or voting rights; or
- exercises ultimate control; and
- a shareholder in a limited company who:
- holds (directly or indirectly) more than 25% of the shares or voting rights; or
- ultimately owns, or exercises ultimate control.
- a partner in a partnership (including a Scottish Limited Partnership (SLP));
- a member in a limited liability partnership (LLP);
- a director or company secretary in a limited company; and
- a member of the firm’s management board or equivalent.
- the nominated officer (the MLRO);
- the member of the board of directors (or if there is no board, of its equivalent management body) or of its senior management as the officer responsible for the relevant person’s compliance with MLR17); and
- any other principal, senior manager, or member of a management committee who is responsible for setting, approving or ensuring the firm’s compliance with the firm’s Anti-Money Laundering policies and procedures, in relation to the following areas:
- client acceptance procedures;
- the firm’s risk management practices;
- internal controls, including employee screening and training for AML purposes;
- internal audit or the annual AML compliance review process;
- customer due diligence, including policies for reliance; and
If you are unsure whether someone in your firm is a BOOM, contact the IAB AML team.
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