Synopsis: 

Legal practitioners face increasing risks of being exploited, whether knowingly or unknowingly, to facilitate money laundering, terrorism financing, or proliferation financing through legal transactions. Failure to conduct adequate Customer Due Diligence (“CDD”) may expose practitioners and law practices to regulatory, disciplinary and other legal consequences.

Part 1 of this e-learning module provides a practical introduction to the CDD obligations under the Legal Profession (Prevention of Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing) Rules 2015 and the Law Society’s Practice Direction 3.2.1. Through realistic scenarios and practical examples, learners will gain an understanding of when CDD must be conducted, how to identify and verify clients and beneficial owners, and the consequences of non-compliance. The module also covers situations that may require practitioners to cease acting, decline instructions, or consider further reporting obligations. 

Keywords: Customer Due Diligence, Anti-Money Laundering, Client Verification, Regulatory Compliance, Suspicious Transactions