Bar Standards Board Investigates Low SARs Reporting by Barristers Amid Money Laundering Concerns

The Bar Standards Board, which oversees barristers and specialized legal service providers in England and Wales, has reviewed why barristers submit so few Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to state authorities. Despite frequent warnings from government departments and law enforcement that lawyers are at high risk of exposure to money laundering, either knowingly or unknowingly, the number of SARs filed by legal professionals remains low.

In its annual report on anti-money laundering (AML) standards, the Bar Standards Board highlighted concerns about this discrepancy. “It is often said by government departments, law enforcement agencies and others that the level of SARs is too low in the legal sector,” the Board wrote, noting that the limited reporting “would appear to contradict the assessment in the National Risk Assessment of the legal sector as being at high risk of money laundering.”

The report pointed out that official statistics reveal that British lawyers typically “make very few SARs,” and the Board continues to address this in its compliance discussions with barristers. “We routinely discuss this with barristers during the course of our compliance testing,” the Board noted, adding that so far, these conversations indicate that barristers who work within the scope of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) are aware of their responsibilities and “have not had cause to make a SAR.”

Despite these assurances, the Bar Standards Board stated it would keep scrutinizing AML compliance practices, especially within high-risk areas like tax and property law, which are more frequently associated with money laundering activities.

By fLEXI tEAM