§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions accountants and auditors have notified the banking, building societies and financial services regulators of suspicious transactions,(a) with and (b) without the knowledge of their audit clients. [6477]
315W
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyThe National Criminal Intelligence Service (NICS) is the authority which, under the guidance supporting the money-laundering legislation, must be notified of suspicious transaction involving money-laundering. The number of such reports received in the past five years was as follows:
- Year
- 1996: 75
- 1995: 44
- 1994: 6
- 1993: 2
- 1992: 1.
It is a criminal offence for the client to be informed that such a notification has been made.
Figures for the sources of other notifications of suspicious transactions to the regulatory authorities are not held by the authorities concerned.