ECSH84000 - Sanctions for non-compliance: censuring statements

If HMRC are satisfied that any person (business or individual) has contravened a relevant requirement imposed on them, Regulation 76 of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR 2017) empowers us to “do one or both of the following

  • (a) impose a penalty of such amount as it considers appropriate on any person (P), see ECSH82575
  • (b) publish a statement censuring P.

The decision maker (DM) will need to decide whether a Censure Statement is appropriate. This decision will be made in close consultation with the Economic Crime Supervision (ECS) Promote and Policy teams. Cases should be considered for a wider ECS analysis of the appropriateness of a Censure Statement if the DM and their line manager consider any of the following four criteria are identified as pertinent to the circumstances of the breach(es) of MLR 2017.

Criteria for identifying a case for possible censure

Those four criteria are

  • Publication will contribute to a wider public understanding of the issues and challenges of maximising the Government’s efforts to combat money laundering/terrorist financing and HMRC’s role in that. Greater awareness of HMRC’s role and the successes of its compliance activity will encourage whistle-blowers to come forward in the knowledge that their information will be acted upon robustly.
  • It will add significantly to the overall ignominy for a business in addition to the publication of other related sanctions. Publication of the ‘full story’ that lies behind the reasons for issuing a significant sanction will add to the ignominy by describing in detail the transgression that took place.
  • Publication will help to deter other businesses from non-compliance or, in more positive terms, incentivise them to do what is required to achieve compliance. Censure will add materially to the incentivisation effect, showing the detailed story of how the specifics of non-compliance have led to a penalty (or other sanction).
  • The Censure will act as a learning tool for supervised businesses. By being able to read the story of transgression in detail, businesses (particularly in the same sector) will have a significant learning opportunity to see the sorts of things they want to be checking they are doing correctly.

(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)