Last December the FCA consulted on a proposal to introduce a financial crime return (REP-CRIM). The proposal was set out in chapter 6 of Consultation Paper 15/42: Quarterly Consultation Paper No.11.

The FCA has now published Policy Statement 16/19: Financial Crime Reporting: feedback on Chapter 6 of CP15/42 and final rules (PS16/19). In PS16/19 the FCA sets out the responses it received to its earlier consultation and its view on them. It also presents the final rules and implementation timescale for the reporting requirement. The final Handbook rules and guidance come into force on 31 December 2016.

The FCA’s final rules will apply to those firms that are subject to the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLRs) except for: retail investment intermediaries and mortgage intermediaries, investment firms, consumer credit firms, and electronic money institutions with revenue of less than £5m (as at the last accounting reference date). The FCA will review that £5m revenue exemption threshold every three years. REP-CRIM will only need to contain data relating to the parts of the firm’s business subject to the MLRs.

The REP-CRIM will take effect from the end of this year for firms with reporting periods ending from this date onwards, with a total submission period of 60 business days. In addition, given the tight timeframe, REP-CRIM will only need to be submitted on a best endeavours basis for the first submission.

View Financial Crime Reporting: feedback on Chapter 6 of CP15/42 and final rules, 1 August 2016