The Role of the Regulated Sector in the UK Anti-Money Laundering Framework: Pushing the Boundaries of the Private Police

Abstract

This article argues that the conceptualisation of private police in current academic literature requires expansion to accommodate the role of the regulated sector in the Anti- Money Laundering (AML) framework. Firstly, it evaluates the literature on ‘private police’ and argues that its current parameters are too narrow to accommodate the ‘policing’ role of the regulated sector. Secondly, it lays out the legislative framework that has developed to deal with the problem of money laundering. Thirdly, it contextualises the role of the regulated sector, examining the domestic inter-agency policing relationships within the suspicious activity regime as operationalised in Scotland. Finally, it takes a closer look at how the courts have interpreted the ‘failure to report offence’ under s330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 and its consequential effect on the engagement of the regulated sector with the SARs regime.