Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

UK consults on handing legal sector AML supervision to FCA: higher fines, fit-and-proper gatekeeping and data-driven enforcement for law firms

Published on: 17 November 2025

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

FCA to centralise UK AML oversight

Ministers plan to remove anti‑money laundering supervision from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and other professional bodies, consolidating it within the Financial Conduct Authority to simplify the regime and plug gaps exploited by dirty money. Colette Best, Kingsley Napley LLP’s director of AML, said aligning legal, accountancy and financial services under a single FCA supervisor — replacing 22 professional body supervisors — could make the UK a far harsher environment for laundering.

A consultation on the proposals opened on 13 November 2025. The package, which would require legislation, envisages a wholesale reset of how law firms interact with their AML supervisor, with stiffer penalties and more onerous compliance duties. The FCA would gain sweeping enforcement powers over the legal sector for AML and counter‑terrorism requirements, including the ability to levy fines and impose bans in line with sanctions already applied to banks and other financial firms. Specifically, ministers propose that the FCA should assume authority to issue civil penalties and prohibitions, and to bring criminal proceedings where AML rules are breached. These shifts aim to deliver consistency across sectors and close supervisory loopholes that have persisted under the fragmented model for years...

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