The real estate sector continues to have significant focus from its money laundering regulator – HMRC. Following a crackdown in March, which saw 50 estate agents suspected of trading without being registered receive regulator visits, HMRC has released updated money laundering guidance for the sector. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment _data/file/799193/EAB.pdf Those operating in this industry are now required […]

In a landmark constitutional decision for Jersey, the UK Supreme Court has accepted the arguments of the Attorney General for Jersey as to whether or not the European Union right of free movement of capital applies to movements between the UK and Jersey. The case was heard by the Supreme Court because HMRC appealed the […]

As highlighted earlier by Comsure https://www.comsuregroup.com/jersey-trust-named-in-non-disclosed-dotas-scheme-during-hmrc-victory-against-tax-avoidance-promoters/ HMRC won £40 million battle against tax avoidance promoters – HM Revenue and Customs has won a legal case over tax avoidance scheme promoter Hyrax Resourcing Ltd, which will help the tax authority collect over £40 million in unpaid taxes. Unfortunately, the scheme relied on an offshore trust in […]

The successor to the infamous Jimmy Carr ‘K2’ scheme has just surfaced following a decision by the First Tier Tribunal which found that a contractor loan scheme should have been notified under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regulations. With striking similarities in the way it was marketed and operated to K2 the scheme, […]

HMRC has confirmed that it has opened its first investigations into the corporate criminal offence of failure to prevent the facilitation of UK tax evasion, using new powers to tackle corporate fraud contained in the Criminal Finances Act, introduced in the wake of the Panama Papers leaks ‘These investigations have been commenced since November 2018 […]

The UK Times has reported that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has admitted for the first time that it allows the most powerful members of society to escape prosecution for financial crimes. At an economic crime conference in Cambridge last week, a senior government official admitted that the tax authorities accommodated celebrities’ concerns and settled […]

  Estate agents are being slammed with “business busting” fines under new anti money laundering regulations, according to the head of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), but the amounts are not public. Tighter regulations were introduced in 2017 under the Money Laundering Regulations, which require estate agents to do anti-money-laundering checks on both […]

Hundreds of thousands of trusts will be hit by sweeping new reporting rules that came into force this week as part of a money laundering crackdown. Trustees will need to give HM Revenue & Customs a detailed picture of the assets held in a trust, as well as the identities of trustees and beneficiaries. The […]