Received a letter, Money Laundering laws?

Kashinoda

Hey,

Mum put in cash deposit from when she sold the house (just over £10,000) last month. The other day my mum got rather a rude letter from HSBC asking about it and all the info

Is this right? Does it come down to Money Laundering regulations im guessing.

There's not any where which cleary states the guidelines for tranactions/deposits etc. I was told maybe its £10,000 cash deposit then they inform inland revenue... that the same if a cheque or bank tranfer is made into your account?

If any one could shed some light would be greatful.

jamesd

She can ask them to explain why they want information that she considers private and unnecessary to them receiving her money.

If they say that it is for "account security" or similar she could say that she is entirely happy with the security of their cash handling and she can see the money in her account so there was no problem.

However, that's being a little unkind to the bank staff, who will probably try to avoid telling her the truth out of concern that they might break the law that requires them to not tell a criminal about an investigation.

If she's choosing to decline, before doing so she should ensure that there are no funds in her HSBC account and be prepared for the possibility that they will freeze any funds and then eventually close the account. Most likely all without telling her why.

Declining will almost certainly result in a report of a suspicious transaction but that's not anything to worry about and in the highly unlikely event that there's any followup on that from someone other than HSBC she can provide those official investigators with details.

If she wants a low hassle life she should tell them that it's part of the proceeds from a property sale.

Then she can decide if, on customer service grounds, she finds the way HSBC is handling this acceptable and wishes instead to do business with a bank that handles it in ways that she doesn't consider rude.

Part of the justification for the various money laundering checks is that their costs are low compared to the claimed benefits. It's not required that consumers agree that hassling them like this is a "low" cost, or cooperate in keeping the costs to the banks low or in rewarding banks who handle the checks in ways that appear to be rude - normal customer service practices should still be applied to this delicate area. Rewarding banks that do it badly by taking your business elsewhere is entirely appropriate. So is rewarding those who do it well by giving them your business.

Rafter

They would be breaking the law if they didn't investigate this much cash being deposited.

It is highly unusual in 2007 for £10k in cash to be paid in unless it is a retailer or unless someone is trying to avoid the source of the money being masked because it is the proceeds of some sort of criminal activity.

HSBC or the cashier who accepted the money could be fined or sent to jail for up to 7 years not investigating it.

Just co-operate.

R.

Mikeyorks

There are different rules for cash - unlike cheques / BACS / CHAPS etc .... it doesn't leave an auditable trail behind.

But they are supposed to check at the point of the transaction - not after they've accepted it. And if you were money laundering - an enquiring letter isn't likely to yield much in the way of honest results!

As a result of the house sale - have you notified them of a change of address? If so - just point at it.

jonesMUFCforever

Why give it to you in cash.
Would a cheque not have been simpler and safer?

gt94sss2

ts_aly2000 wrote: »

Yes, it probably is to do with money laundering rules.

Personally if it was me and my bank wrote me a rude letter asking where the money from my house sale had come from, I'd withdraw it immiediately and transfer it into a high interest savings account.

Its probably not a rude letter but a standard template.

I'm not familiar with the money laundering rules but I suspect that any attempt to withdraw/move the money would raise multiple red flags, if you try and move it before explaining to HSBC where it came from.

That is if HSBC allow you to move it at all - they may not be allowed too as they may have to freeze the funds until they know.

As has been said - its highly unusual for anyone to pay in £10,000 in cash at a bank - it just sounds dodgy.. no wonder the bank is querying it..

Regards
Sunil

inmypocketnottheirs

Yet more infringements on civil liberties. If I decide to accept 10k, 20k or however many k I want in cash, then that is my perogative. This is all down to our government wanting to reduce our freedom and remove our entitlement/access to cash to their own ends. Another example is the 50 odd questions we will soon have to answer in order to leave the country/

If I deposit cash in my own account, then it is up to any investigating authority to prove it is the result of criminal activity, not for me to prove that it isn't. I remember reading somewhere about innocent until proven guilty, or was I mistaken?:rolleyes:

Iamthesmartestmanalive

inmypocketnottheirs wrote: »

Yet more infringements on civil liberties. If I decide to accept 10k, 20k or however many k I want in cash, then that is my perogative. This is all down to our government wanting to reduce our freedom and remove our entitlement/access to cash to their own ends. Another example is the 50 odd questions we will soon have to answer in order to leave the country/

If I deposit cash in my own account, then it is up to any investigating authority to prove it is the result of criminal activity, not for me to prove that it isn't. I remember reading somewhere about innocent until proven guilty, or was I mistaken?:rolleyes:

Im sure if you had money obtained from you criminally you would be happy at that approach:rolleyes:

It will be money laundering reasons although they wont say this as it is illegal not to investigate and illegal to tell a subject of your investigation

Either way I doubt the letter is rude as such, a simple letter telling your bank that they are the proceeds of a property sale preferably with some sort of proof then it will be the end of it

The ignoring of the letter or any attempts to withdraw the cash without explaination will probably lead to revocation of the account, freezing of the cash and a report to the authorities

Tbh if it is a property sale what does it matter telling the bank?

inmypocketnottheirs

Iamthesmartestmanalive wrote: »

Tbh if it is a property sale what does it matter telling the bank?

What is it do do with them where the money comes from?

Do I ask my bank manager to account to me for his incomings and outgoings?

It is just a further example of the police state that we are living in.

Government getting other entities (i.e. banks, Ken Livingstone) to do their snooping for them.

olly300

inmypocketnottheirs wrote: »

What is it do do with them where the money comes from?

Do I ask my bank manager to account to me for his incomings and outgoings?

It is just a further example of the police state that we are living in.

Government getting other entities (i.e. banks, Ken Livingstone) to do their snooping for them.

So you agree with organised crime? The Money Laundering Regulations are a EU Directive which the UK government has to implement being a member of the EU. Even if the UK wasn't in the EU the idea of the regulations is to catch criminal gangs so would probably be law anyway.

This means that all banks, building societies, estate agents, solicitors, financial advisors, accountants etc have to check the money is from a legal transaction and not dirty. This is so they personally don't end up in prison and being fined. They don't care where it comes from as long as it's legal.

Kashinoda

Thanks for the responce,

The sale was actually from an old run down property she inherited. A contractor bought it and paid with a cheque (30k) and the rest cash, I don't know the exact figures as I guess it's none of my business! Why it was paid for like that I don't know, but doesnt mean there's anything wrong with it.

What's weird is we've had nothing from her other bank about the large cheque deposit, are there different regulations for this? Mum's not the brightest and usually has my step dad around to sort this stuff, but he's away on business... so shes having a bit of a panic! lol

I think i'll advise her just to send a letter to the bank saying about the property sale... nothing detailed, I wouldn't myself but I think it's enough to keep her happy.