A new initiative between the world’s largest membership association of lawyers and its accountancy counterpart aims to tackle money laundering.
The International Bar Association (IBA) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) have launched a pioneering initiative to support legal and accountancy professional bodies in combating money laundering.
The initiative was announced at a three-day event attended by more than 70 delegates from bar associations and professional accountancy bodies across 22 Caribbean jurisdictions and beyond, held in the Cayman Islands, ahead of the IBA’s annual conference in Toronto, Canada, from 2-7 November.
The Caribbean initiative aligns with the IBA’s Bar Issues Commission’s (BIC) work in supporting law societies regionally, ahead of its contribution to the Toronto conference agenda, which features sessions on protecting the rule of law and the independence of lawyers, underscoring the IBA’s respected global role.
The Cayman Islands event, one of a scheduled global series of regional anti-money laundering (AML) capacity-building initiatives, was a pilot workshop featuring panel discussions, lectures and collaborative breakout sessions.
The event aimed to provide a shared learning environment that strengthens national AML systems and enhances the capacity of professional bodies to educate and equip their members with the pertinent AML requirements and expectations.
This, the IBA believes, will empower professional associations to build more effective partnerships with key AML stakeholders, including government agencies and financial intelligence units, and support professional bodies in undertaking or preparing for AML supervisory responsibilities where applicable.
The initiative was supported by the independent intergovernmental body and AML standard-setter, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and the Caribbean FATF, its regional affiliate.
The workshop was hosted by the Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants (CIIPA) and the Cayman Legal Services Supervisory Authority (LSSA), with support from the Cayman Islands’ Ministry of Financial Services & Commerce.
Steven Richman, chair of the BIC, said: “This initiative underscores the critical role that the accountancy and legal professions play in combating money laundering and strengthening the integrity of the global financial system as a whole. Sharing ideas and working together is crucial to stamping out this corrupt practice.”
Scott Hanson, the IFAC’s director of policy and global engagement, said: “The IFAC, by connecting and uniting its members, makes the accountancy profession’s contributions to the fight against money laundering truly global. Through our partnership with the FATF and the IBA, we aim to equip our member professional bodies with the tools and networks they need to be AML leaders in their jurisdictions.”
Writing on LinkedIn, IBA legal director Sara Carnegies said the event was “a bold effort – the first of its kind – to support our respective professions engage with the complex issues that arise in the context of anti-money laundering and compliance with the FATF recommendations”.
The initiative comes as UK lawyers adjust to last week’s news that the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, will take over responsibility for anti-money laundering enforcement following a recent review.
City lawyers learnt last week that the FCA would act as the Sole Professional Services Supervisor (SPSS) following reforms to the UK’s anti-money laundering regime, leaving the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) with a much-reduced role. The SRA has recently been criticised following a series of law firm failures that attracted regulatory and professional disapproval, including from City lawyers.
Law Society of England and Wales president Mark Evans noted the change with concern, given the complexity of the regime, saying it came “with many challenges”.
Evans added: “The government must carefully manage the cost implications of implementing an SPSS model and avoid increasing regulatory burdens that could undermine the competitiveness of our world-beating legal services sector, especially given the extensive changes required.”
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