Beyond Anti-money laundering:Gatekeeping in an evolving anti-illicit finance regulatory regime

Since the introduction of the global anti-money laundering (AML) regime, the focus of international and domestic concern and policy priorities in relation to illicit finance has shifted, from an emphasis on the laundering of the proceeds of drug trafficking and other organised crimes to a broader range of crime and security issues, including money laundering, threat financing, corruption and <br/>kleptocracy, tax evasion/avoidance, and sanctions circumvention. This raises questions about the ability of existing regulatory regimes to address the range of illicit finance threats and/or priorities in an ever-changing geopolitical context, whether such regimes can – and should – evolve to address all such threats, and the implications of ever-expanding regulatory obligations for those subject to them. This paper focuses on the expanding anti-illicit finance ‘gatekeeper’ <br/>role and ‘gatekeeper liability’ of legal professionals in the UK, identifying how recent legislative developments have created further opportunities for lawyers to prevent or enable illicit finance, further regulatory obligations (and potential exposure to criminal sanctions), and practical compliance challenges.