Professionals such as lawyers, estate practitioners and tax
advisers are increasingly being used by criminals to launder money.
The legislation governing money laundering is wide ranging and
impacts on many areas of practice which some practitioners may not
necessarily be immediately aware of.
An example of this arises where there has been a failure in the
duty to manage asbestos - that is not taking steps to identify,
record and manage the risks from any asbestos present - this
failure gives rise to criminal sanctions.
Prior to February 2003 money laundering offences were limited to
the proceeds of indictable crime such as drugs and terrorism. The
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) extended that definition to
the proceeds of any criminal conduct. Section 340(2) of the Act
defines criminal conduct as follows: 'Criminal conduct is
conduct which a) constitutes an offence in any part of the United
Kingdom, or b) would constitute an offence in any part of
