Regulated entities are made up of those persons acting in the course of business carried on by them in the UK. The regulated sector is activity based and includes those activities listed below.
- Credit & financial institutions
- Auditors, insolvency practitioners, external accountants and tax advisors
- Independent legal professionals
- Trust or company service providers
- Estate agents
- High value dealers
- Casinos
Business entities performing these activities pose the higher risk of facilitating money laundering. These different types of businesses offer a whole host of services and products dedicated to the movement of property of all forms.
So what is meant by ‘’by way of business’’?
In most cases you will know if you are carrying out a relevant activity by way of business, but there may be some circumstances where you might not be sure.
When deciding whether you carry out relevant activities by way of business, you need to consider the following questions:
- Have you set up a business with the intention of undertaking relevant activities?
- Do you advertise or publicise the provision of relevant activities or receive referrals from other businesses?
- Is the relevant activity carried out with a view to profit?Is the relevant activity actively pursued with reasonable or recognisable continuity?
If the answer to all of these questions is no, then you are not carrying out the activity by way of business and you will therefore not be regulated, this includes charities or people who help relatives.
If the answer to all of these questions is ‘yes’, then you are carrying out the activity by way of business and you will need to regulated.
In the following pages we highlight some of the reasons certain trades are in the regulated sector. This helps give an understanding to where your firm and the type of business it undertakes fits into the UK Model.