ML threshold amount to be increased to £1000

A draft statutory instrument  has proposed the increase of the “threshold amount” above which banks suspicious of money laundering cannot deal without appropriate consent from the current £250 to £1000. The threshold allows banks to carry out actions related to “operating an account” only, and would not apply, for example, to returning funds to a customer or closing an account.  The threshold has been in place unchanged since 2005. The explanatory memorandum explains that the increase will improve the SAR regime and free up enforcement resource to focus on opportunities that will lead to asset seizure. The £1000 threshold has been chosen as the Government thinks this will reduce DAML volumes and therefore the burden on the financial sector without causing loss of intelligence.