Many of our clients wonder why we have to be so strict about money laundering. Charlene Rimmer ,Conveyancing executive says,”At Frettens Solicitors we always endeavour to give our clients the best service and protect them from the fraudulent use of of their names and addresses by criminals for the purpose of money laundering.” The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 require that we receive evidence of your identity – one to prove your name and one to prove your place of residence.
Identity theft is becoming more prevalent and the use of stolen identities enables criminals to open an account with a bank or building society and get ‘dirty’ money into the financial system. When we ask for proof of your identity it doesn’t mean that we suspect you of money laundering – we are required by law to have evidence to show that you are who you say you are. The procedures that we follow ensure that we are complying with the law and also protecting our clients.
To confirm your identity we would need one original form of evidence from each of the two groups below:
- Current signed passport
- Current full driving licence
- PAYE Coding Notice from Inland Revenue
- Services ID card
- Residence Permit
- Current Firearms Certificate
- Construction Industry Certificate CIS4(T), CIS4(P) or CIS6
- Current UK Provisional photocard driving licence (both sections) Proof of address:
- Driving licences as above (if not already used as evidence of identity)
- Recent utility bill (not mobile phone bill)
- Recent mortgage statement
- Local authority council tax bill
- Bank or Building Society statement or pass book
- Residence Permit
- Benefits book
- Local authority rent card/tenancy agreement
Do not worry if you can’t produce any of the above – although the law requires us to have proof of your identity and address there are alternative procedures and on-line checks that can be done for clients who have reasonable grounds for not being able to produce them.
If you have any questions please feel free to chat to any member of our teams on 01202 499255
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