Government regulations mean you must prove who you are if you are a new client or if your solicitor has not taken instructions from you for some time.

Why is this?

The UK is a major international financial and legal centre with a strong reputation for honesty and integrity. Unfortunately, that is why financial and professional businesses, like banks and solicitors’ firms are attractive to money launderers - criminals who sometimes try to hide stolen money by turning it into legitimate income.

The government has introduced anti-money laundering measures to:

• Make it more difficult for criminals to make and keep money from their crimes
• Confiscate the proceeds of crime.

For this reason there are compulsory checks which solicitors or lawyers have to make of their clients

Being asked for identification does not mean you or your business is under suspicion. These identification requirements apply to all clients when they are asking their solicitors to conduct certain types of cases.

How this affects you

This means that you will have to show your solicitor, lawyers or somebody acting on their behalf, some personal documents that can include:

• Current signed passport
• Photo-card driving licence
• Benefit book
• And a recent gas, electricity or other household bill

If you don’t have these documents, you will have to ask your solicitor to advise you on how best to prove who you are.

For further information on Money Laundering, please contact Charles Marchant-White, Email: cmarchant-white@clarkeandson.co.uk or Tel: 01256 320 555.