AML anti money laundering

Rebecca9970

Hi, my son has received some fantastic bonuses at work which had led to him undergoing AML checks. He was told by his solicitor  that when he purchases a house he becomes a home owner and will have an asset and will no longer subject to AML checks. His house completed 3 weeks ago which he purchased in cash no mortgage and AML  said they would release him from the checks and send him a certificate of release. He is still waiting and all AML say when his solicitor checks is it is being processed. How long does he have to wait. The great generous Son that 
he is wants to transfer some money to me and his dad to pay off our mortgage, clear our debts and do things to the house and he can’t until his certificate arrives. He wants to do things with his money without AML scrutinising him. He has proven the money many times and it is making him depressed as he keeps saying having money is rubbish as he can’t spend it. We are also worried his solicitor is dragging things as he knows he has money and is bumping up the fees. Can you advise how we can get this sorted quickly as my son feels he is being held to ransom by AML.

Thank you 

BrassicWoman

AML, is a process, not a company. So he would need to speak to presumably his bank or solicitor.

But what's the rush? Nothing raises suspicion like needing cash in a hurry. It's only been three weeks. 

What is this "certificate of release" releasing? And to whom?

AskAsk

as far as i am aware, you can't be exempt from AML checks!  it can be done at any time when your activity justifies the check, like buying and selling a property for example.

i stand to be corrected if i have not understood AML correctly.

ratechaser

Nope, this makes no sense. If there are AML checks going on for specific transactions then they need to complete - best case it's just verification of source of funds/wealth for the property purchase. Worst case these 'fantastic bonuses' have tripped a suspicious activity flag with the OPs son's bank and his account has been frozen pending investigation. Hopefully they weren't the sort of bonuses that get paid in used fifties in a suitcase! 

But once that investigation completes - and assuming everything is truly 'legit' - then the bank shouldn't prevent him using the money as he sees fit.

I think the OP needs to have another go at explaining the problem here. I'm also fascinated by the idea of a certificate that proves that you are not a money launderer. Where can I get one please?

sheramber

How did he complete on a house if he cannot get access to his money?
When did he get the bonuses and when did he try to withdraw the money?
Are you sure they were bonuses?

AskAsk

i think what has happened is that the OP has misunderstood what AML is or her son has misrepresented what the situation is to her.

OP - AML checks are a little bit like checks for CCJ, they are carried out when you carry out a financial transaction of a significant amount of money, so there is no such exempt certificate that you believe exist, or someone has told you exists.

when you sell a house, you will also have to pass AML checks, just the same as when you buy one.  what your son has been told is a complete false statement, that if he owns a house, he will no longer be subject to any future AML checks.

Keep_pedalling

Who does he work for, DrugsRus?

TBagpuss

YEs, I think either you or your son, or both, have misunderstood what what's been said.

AML stands for Anti-money laundering.  Businesses such as banks and solicitors have to carry out anti-money laundering checks to satisfy themselves that funds passing through their hands / accounts isn't being laundered. It's absolutely standard, and is done for anyone buying./selling a house (most solicitors will do it for all clients, there may be exceptions where they are not handling any funds)  

Your son's solicitors will have had to do checks in order to deal with the purchase of the property - if you read the house buying part of the forum you'll see it is perfectly normal, lawyers need to be able t see what the source of the money was (so for instance, if it's come from your son's employment, a letter from his employer , or copies of the relevant wage slips might be needed) 

Any certificate / sign off will be in relation to a specific transaction, not a one-off.

If your son does in time give you money to clear your mortgage you may well find yourself having to do similar checks to show the source of the funds. 

Jet

As others have said, AML checks don't just "go away".  Many industries have to do anti money laundering checks depending on the transaction.  Chances are if you are moving significant sums of money anywhere, there will be some sort of checks.  If he's done nothing wrong, then there is nothing to worry about but I understand that it might feel like a lot of bureucracy to move your own money about.