A supplier to one of our bookkeeping clients has suffered a fraud by one of its employees. The police have been notified and the case is ongoing. Is this something we should report to NCA under Money Laundering regulations, given that it is much more than a suspicion, the police are already on the case, and a prosecution is likely?
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Surely a supplier to a client is outside your ML remit particularly as the police are already involved
Yes - and No
The basic principle is that you are obligated to make a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) to your firm's Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) under s330 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 where, on the basis of information which has come to you in the course of your work in the 'regulated sector', you know or suspect (or have reasonable grounds to know or suspect) that a person (which includes a company etc) is (which includes has been) engaged in 'money laundering' (which is widely defined) - unless one of the exceptions applies.
In turn the MLRO is obligated to make a report to the National Crime Agency (the NCA, formerly SOCA).
So, YES, you are obligated to make a report - unless one of the exceptions applies.
However you may consider that in these particular circumstances you have a 'reasonable excuse' not to make a report (which is one of the exceptions within s330) because you have no additional information (presumably) beyond that which is already available to the victim of the crime, the victim's own accountant (who has a similar obligation to report) & the police.
David