SmartSearch: AML standards must improve after OPBAS report highlights critical gaps
- Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) Report says AML supervision in the legal and accountancy sectors has improved since 2018, but enforcement and compliance standards still need strengthening
- Hundreds of penalties have been issued for breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations, with ongoing concerns around poor risk assessments, weak customer due diligence and inadequate AML controls
- Phil Cotter, CEO of SmartSearch, says the findings highlight the need for stronger enforcement and wider adoption of automated compliance technology ahead of the Financial Conduct Authority taking over AML supervision of professional services
The latest report from the Office for Professional Body Anti‑Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) highlights progress in how money laundering risks are supervised across the legal and accountancy sectors, but warns that enforcement and compliance standards still fall short in key areas.
OPBAS finds that, while professional body supervisors are now more effective than when OPBAS was established in 2018, there are persistent weaknesses in oversight and compliance practices among firms. The report comes as regulators step up action against breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations, with HMRC issuing 336 penalty notices between April and September 2025, including fines of up to £104,000.
In response, Phil Cotter, CEO of SmartSearch, says the findings underline the need for stronger enforcement and greater adoption of technology-driven AML solutions as regulatory expectations continue to rise.
“The OPBAS 2024/25 report delivers a stark message: baseline AML compliance in legal and accountancy sectors is adequate, but effectiveness remains inconsistent, and some poor practice persists,” said Cotter.
“The enforcement figures tell the story. HMRC issued 336 penalty notices between April and September 2025 for Money Laundering Regulations breaches, with fines reaching as high as £104,000. The majority were for failure to register properly, but 33 penalties were issued for substantive failures, inadequate risk assessments, missing AML controls, insufficient staff training, and deficient customer due diligence.
“More concerning is OPBAS’s finding that Professional Body Supervisors still report ‘common breaches of inadequately documented policies and procedures, customer due diligence, client risk assessment or records and no or inadequate firm-wide risk assessment’ among their supervised populations. These aren’t new issues; they’re persistent failures that call into question whether firms are truly taking their obligations seriously.
“The report identifies several critical gaps: some PBSs take an ‘overly member-centric’ approach that hinders robust supervision; enforcement remains weak with firms receiving multiple chances to remediate before facing consequences; and manual, inconsistent processes struggle to achieve the coverage needed across 41,400 supervised firms.
“With the FCA set to become the single AML supervisor for professional services, the bar will rise. Technology is essential to closing these gaps—not as a ‘nice to have,’ but as the only viable way to achieve consistent, effective compliance at scale.
“SmartSearch provides the automated identity verification, beneficial ownership identification, real-time sanctions screening, and ongoing monitoring that professional services firms need. Our platform turns compliance from a manual, error-prone burden into an efficient, audit-ready process.
“The message is clear: assisted compliance and manual processes won’t cut it anymore. Firms need robust, technology-enabled AML systems, before the FCA takes over supervision and expectations increase further.”
