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SRA supervision and enforcement of AML and economic crime compliance for law firms under MLR 2017 and ECCTA 2023 (England and Wales)

Practice notes
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This Practice Note is aimed at law firms regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). It sets out the SRA’s supervisory and enforcement powers under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, as amended (MLR 2017), and how these have been broadened by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023). A separate Practice Note explains how to get through an SRA anti-money laundering (AML) inspection: How to survive an SRA AML inspection. For wider guidance on the SRA’s supervision and enforcement roles, see the following Practice Notes:

  • SRA’s supervision function
  • SRA’s enforcement function
  • SRA enforcement strategy

Regulatory status of the SRA under the AML regime

The MLR 2017 designate professional bodies with responsibility for AML supervision. The Law Society is the named supervisor for solicitors and law firms in England and Wales, but it delegates regulatory functions to the SRA, so the SRA is responsible for ensuring the solicitors and firms it oversees comply with the MLR 2017. In October 2025, the government announced that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will become the single professional services supervisor for AML and counter-terrorist financing (CTF)—see News Analysis: FCA to...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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