AML-regulated entities: pay the Economic Crime Levy before 30th September

THE ECONOMIC CRIME LEVY DEADLINE

AML-regulated entities: pay the Economic Crime Levy before 30th September 2023

In October 2021, the government announced a new step in their initiative to develop a long-term Sustainable Resourcing Model (SRM) to tackle economic crime - the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy.

The levy was first introduced on entities regulated during the 2022/23 financial year (1st April 2022 - 31st March 2023). This means that the first payments are due this financial year (2023/24) - more specifically, by 30th September 2023!

Economic crime refers to a broad category of activity involving money, finance or assets, the purpose of which is to unlawfully obtain a profit or advantage for the perpetrator or cause loss to others.

What is the Economic Crime Levy?

The levy is an annual charge affecting organisations who are supervised under the Money Laundering Regulations - also known as Anti-Money Launderingregulated (AML-regulated) entities. The levy has been introduced in part to help fund the government’s anti-money laundering initiatives, to help protect UK companies from falling victim to money laundering.

Who does the levy apply to?

The levy is compulsory for organisations in the AML-regulated sector, which the government justifies due to it being the most at-risk sector to money laundering - therefore they will benefit the most from the initiatives funded by the levy.

It’s likely that your organisation is AML-regulated if you operate in one of the following sectors:

• credit institutions

• financial institutions

• auditors, insolvency practitioners, external accountants and tax advisers

• independent legal professionals

• trust or company service providers

• estate agents and letting agents

• high-value dealers, casinos, auction platforms and art market participants

• cryptoasset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers

The levy is payable as a fixed fee, with four revenue-based size bands that organisations can fall under, demonstrated in the table below:

The levy must be paid by 30th September each year. With less than one month until the deadline, we are urging our clients to make sure that they are able to fulfil their obligations. HMRC have clarified that, should the deadline fall on a weekend or bank holiday, then the levy payment must reach HMRC before the end of the previous working day.