As new Anti-Money Laundering legislation comes into force in the UK, a survey of regulatory literacy among City of London practitioners has found a shocking level of ignorance about the risks of wrongdoing.
11 per cent of respondents were unaware that they were even regulated by the Finnacial Services Authority (FSA); 28 per cent were unsure of their regulatory duties; 23 per cent didn’t know who their Money Laundering Reporting Officer was; 37 per cent had never been trained or had received very little training on compliance; and 26 per cent felt that the FSA has made little difference to the running of the market.
The 2004 Wide Learning Survey of Financial Services Compliance Training survey creators say that “thousands of staff covered by the Financial Services Authority are unknowingly at risk of prison sentences and their employers of heavy fines by breaching laws controlling their work.”
“Considering the number of companies suffering heavy fines and even an individual receiving a prison sentence, also allowing for the increasing status of the FSA, it is very surprising that so many staff still cannot answer these key questions and have not yet been trained,” says Steve Dineen, Chief Executive of Wide Learning. “We were certainly expecting a greater improvement over the last two years. The lack of refresher and continual training is also a concern. If staff are out of date, the authority and security of the market will be undermined and, with it, customer confidence.”
But then he would, wouldn’t he?