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Business owners are reminded that the new Money Laundering Regulations 2007 came into effect on 15 December 2007. These replace the existing money laundering legislation. The aim of the new regime is to further restrict criminal access to the financial system, thereby deterring crime and terrorism.

The Regulations apply (with certain exceptions) to the following types of business:

• credit institutions;
• financial institutions;
• auditors, insolvency practitioners, external accountants and tax advisers;
• independent legal professionals;
• trust or company service providers;
• estate agents;
• high value dealers; and
• casinos.

It is the ‘high value dealer’ who is probably least likely to be aware of the impact of the new law. The legislation defines a high value dealer as ‘a firm or sole trader who by way of business trades in goods (including an auctioneer dealing in goods), when he receives, in respect of any transaction, a payment or payments in cash of at least 15,000 Euros in total, whether the transaction is executed in a single operation or in several operations which appear to be linked’. Clearly, this definition will cover many businesses supplying high value goods where the customer wishes to pay in cash. At the time of writing 15,000 Euros is approximately £11,000.

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