Art dealers and letting agents drive uptick in anti-money laundering registrations
Art dealers, letting agents, and estate agents are driving an uptick in the number of UK businesses registering for anti-money laundering (AML) supervision with HMRC.
The total number of businesses signing up to HMRC’s AML register increased 0.9 per cent from the financial year 2020-21 to 2021-22, analysis of public available data by AML verification firm Credas Technologies shows.
The uptick was driven by a significant increase in the number of letting agents and art dealers registering, after HMRC first required them to list on the AML register in January 2020.
The number of art sellers registering with HMRC increased 358 per cent, from 200 in 2020-21 to 916 in 2021-22.
The number of letting agents listing on the AML register also jumped by 191.1 per cent, from 112 to 326, the analysis shows.
HMRC has required high-risk businesses, such as accountants, money transfer businesses, and solicitors’ firms to register themselves for AML supervision since 2018.
The number of estate agents registering with HMRC for AML supervision also increased 3.7 per cent, from 11,416 in 2020-21 to 11,843 in 2021-22. Estate agents account for 38.4 per cent of all businesses on the HMRC register.