Anti money laundering evidence for gift

PurityExiled

Hello

I’m hoping that someone in the know can help me out.

My Dad sadly passed away a couple of years ago, and after settling his estate my Mum was left with healthy lump sum.

We are moving and she wants to gift us some money to help us out (for which we are very grateful).

Our solicitor has confirmed that we need to obtain proof of ID for Mum, plus evidence of where the gift is coming from. Mum has obtained her certified copies of passport/utility bills, but the bank say that they no longer provide letters confirming residency of funds as they are concerned about any future liability.

Our solicitor says that she will need to take a copy of Mum’s bank statement to keep on record. This is where things get a bit sticky. Mum is happy to gift us the money, but wishes to keep her other financial affairs private. She does not want to provide a statement that shows everything that she has, to be kept on record where she has no control over who can see it. She offered to visit our solicitors and show her the statement, plus sign a letter confirming the gift – but the solicitor says that they must keep a copy.

We know that we have to demonstrate the providence of the gift for anti money laundering purposes, but is there any way to do this and still respect Mum’s request for privacy?

Any suggestions please?

kingstreet

None that I can think of.

Being able to demonstrate the source of the funds to the police in the event of a money laundering investigation is essential in satisfying the money laundering requirements.

I don't see how they can meet that requirement without a copy of the bank statement which shows the source of the funds.

A different solicitor might choose to interpret the rules differently, but I doubt it.

davidmcn

You could try pointing out to her the respective numbers of employees of her bank and of your solicitors...

Otherwise I can't see any obvious solutions. The solicitor will need to keep records to demonstrate that they've complied with the regulations.

And bear in mind that someone being "difficult" with requests for such evidence may in itself be a legitimate cause for suspicion!

[Deleted User]

The fact is, anyone who actually is doing some money laundering can get round these rules easily. All the rules do is hold up genuine people.

bris

Deleted_User wrote: »

The fact is, anyone who actually is doing some money laundering can get round these rules easily. All the rules do is hold up genuine people.

And how would the local drug dealer get round the rules by dumping a carrier bad with 30k on the solicitors table?


Any funds now need a paper trail, if it's legit there is nothing to worry about.


A bank statement alone wont help the launderer if they cant prove how they got it to put it into the bank in the first place. Why do you think they are seizing hundreds of millions from peoples accounts.

maas

I was in the same scenario and was required to provide the same information (mothers ID and bank statement showing deposit funds).

The way I understand it is if you mother is providing funds towards the purchase then she needs to go through the same due diligence as they are party to the transaction.

My mother wasnt happy at first but I just explained if you dont give me the bank statements I cant buy the house and would be stuck living with her - that put an end to the resistance.

As Davemcn says if you try to wiggle your way out of it the solicitor with excuses about not being able to provide a statement you're likely to cause suspicion and attract more scrutiny, and it may morph into a request for 12 months bank statements!

RAS

Your mother sets up a new account called "me and PE saving" or whatever. She transfers into the account the money she wants to gift to you.

They may insist that the money is in there for a while but she can then take the account detailing the gifted sum only and not all her financial activity.

[Deleted User]

bris wrote: »

And how would the local drug dealer get round the rules by dumping a carrier bad with 30k on the solicitors table?

How does the local cig/baccy smuggler do it then?

PurityExiled

Thank you all for your responses. It does sound like we don't have much alternative. I'll go back to Mum and explain the situation.

Okydoky25

I was going to suggest putting it in a new account.

We only bought a few months ago with gifted money and was not asked for any of this. Didn't even request a letter to say where it was from even tho the bank and solicitor knew it was gifted.

princeofpounds

She can get a statement for the day or week in question, minimising exposure of information.

You can ask the solicitor to provide details of their data protection policies (given solicitor-client privilege, it is much safer giving it to them than most places)

I find it totally bizarre she is happy to give over ID information, which is far more valuable, than something that is basically irrelevant for almost anyone else.