The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLR) introduced a system of supervision to ensure that those who have to comply with the regulations, which includes IPs, actually do so. The MLR provide that persons to whom the supervision system applies had to have registered by 30 September 2008, and that they commit an offence if they have not registered by 1 January 2009. For IPs, the supervision has been delegated to the professional bodies that issue insolvency licences, e.g. ACCA, ICAEW, IPA etc. However, this is not as simple as it sounds, as the body responsible for issuing your insolvency licence may not automatically be responsible for supervising you for compliance with the MLR. Let me explain.
The ICAEW web-site indicates that it will supervise its members, including IPs, through its Practice Assurance Scheme (PAS). However, not all members are supervised through PAS as that scheme only applies to member firms meeting certain criteria – effectively sole practices, together with partnerships and corporate bodies controlled by ICAEW members, but see their Rulebook for full details. If you are IP licensed by the ICAEW, but work in a practice that does not qualify for PAS then you are not automatically supervised by the ICAEW. As a result you will need to specifically apply to the ICAEW if you wish them to supervise you for compliance with the MLR. An application form is available on their web-site.
Whilst the ACCA web-site does not go into so much detail, it does say that “ACCA members holding a practising certificate whose firms are regulated by ACCA will continue to be supervised by ACCA.” I believe that this means that as an IP licensed by ACCA, your compliance with the MLR will only be supervised by them if the practice within which you work is actually regulated by ACCA. There do not seem to be any provisions to enable you to specifically apply to be supervised by ACCA, but you should consider contacting them regarding this, failing which you will need to contact the Insolvency Service for supervision by them – see below.
In contrast, the IPA position is simple, they supervise all the IPs they licence for compliance with the MLR.
I have not examined the position with regard to other bodies that issue insolvency licences, and if you are licensed by them you should look at their web-sites or phone them to ascertain the position.
Finally, under the MLR, if IPs are not supervised by any other supervisory body then the Secretary of State (the Insolvency Service) is their default supervisor. However, I can find no information on the Insolvency Service web-site as to whether they are automatically the default MLR supervisor or if you actually need to apply to be supervised by them. If you find yourself in the situation where you do not qualify to be supervised for MLR purposes by your licensing body and are unable to, or do not wish to apply to your licensing body to be registered for MLR supervision purposes then you should consider contacting the Insolvency Service for clarification.
