| Of relevance to: | All regulated firms |
| Key date: | Royal Assent 23 May 2018 |
The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 received Royal Assent on 23 May 2018, creating a new sanctions regime for the UK after Brexit, needed to keep UK Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (“CTF”) measures up to date.
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill currently going through Parliament will freeze current sanctions regimes in effect on the date of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. These regimes are largely dealt with through the European Communities Act 1972, which will be repealed.
The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 will:
- enable the UK to continue to implement United Nations sanctions regimes and to use sanctions to meet national security and foreign policy objectives; and
- enable AML and CTF measures to be kept up to date, continuing to align the UK with international standards.
It also introduces the requirement for annual reports to Parliament on progress towards a register of beneficial owners of overseas entities, with the intention of having such a register fully in place within by 2021.
Most of Part 1 of the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act 2010, which deals with terrorist asset-freezing, will be repealed by this Bill.
