AML GUIDANCE - The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2018 - index - introduction

Sep 12, 2026

AML GUIDANCE is organized by indexed sections that explain the impact of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2018 on solicitor duties. It covers introduction topics including key changes and transition to full compliance, then details how to perform business risk assessments through statutory requirements and step-by-step guidance. It further outlines expectations for policies, controls, procedures (PCPs), and addresses customer risk assessments, including statutory requirements and completion guidance, followed by updated chapter 5 customer due diligence measures for standard, simplified, and enhanced CDD.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages65

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

1 INTRODUCTION

A THE 2018 ACT IS NOT A SEA-CHANGE

B CHANGES TO CURRENT GUIDANCE

C CHANGES TO STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS

D SUMMARY OF HEADLINE IMPACTS ON SOLICITOR AML DUTIES

E GLOSSARY

F HOW TO TRANSITION TO FULL COMPLIANCE

G SCOPE AND STATUS OF GUIDANCE

2 BUSINESS RISK ASSESSMENTS

A BACKGROUND

B THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT BUSINESS RISK ASSESSMENTS

C CURRENT GUIDANCE ABOUT ASSESSING ML/TF RISK

D SOCIETY’S EXPECTATIONS WHEN MONITORING A FIRM’S AML COMPLIANCE

E STEP-BY-STEP GUIDANCE FOR BUSINESS RISK ASSESSMENTS

3 POLICIES, CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

A BACKGROUND

B THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT

C INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO PREPARE PCPS

D WHAT AREAS SHOULD PCPS COVER?

E WHO DO PCPS APPLY TO IN A FIRM?

F ADDITIONAL PCP MEASURES

G SYSTEMS TO RESPOND TO ENQUIRIES FROM AN GARDA SIOCHANA

4 CUSTOMER RISK ASSESSMENTS

A BACKGROUND

B THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT

C INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO COMPLETE CUSTOMER RISK ASSESSMENTS

D SOCIETY’S EXPECTATIONS FOR CUSTOMER RISK REQUIREMENTS

5 UPDATED CHAPTER 5 CUSTOMER DUE DILIGENCE GUIDANCE

A SUMMARY

B STANDARD CDD

C SIMPLIFIED CDD

D ENHANCED CDD

2018 AML GUIDANCE The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2018 INDEX SECTION TITLE PAGE 1 INTRODUCTION A THE 2018 ACT IS NOT A SEA-CHANGE 1 B CHANGES TO CURRENT GUIDANCE 1 C CHANGES TO STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS 2 D SUMMARY OF HEADLINE IMPACTS OFTHE 2018 ACT ON SOLICITOR AML DUTIES 2 E GLOSSARY 4 F HOW TO TRANSITION TO FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THE 2018 ACT 6 G SCOPE AND STATUS OF GUIDANCE 8 2 BUSINESS RISK ASSESSMENTS A BACKGROUND 9 • Are Business Risk Assessments a new concept? • What is the reason for the change? B THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT BUSINESS RISK ASSESSMENTS 9 • What does section 30A require? C CURRENT GUIDANCE ABOUT ASSESSING ML/TF RISK 10 • What is the Law Society’s current best practice guidance for assessing the ML/TF risk exposure of a solicitors’ firm? D THE SOCIETY’S EXPECTATIONS IN RELATION TO BUSINESS RISK ASSESSMENTS WHEN THEY MONITOR/SUPERVISE A FIRM’S AML COMPLIANCE 11 E STEP-BY-STEP GUIDANCE ABOUT HOW TO CONDUCT A BUSINESS RISK ASSESSMENT? 11 STEP 1-Develop your knowledge of ML/TF risks inherent in legal services 12 i. The known legal services vulnerable to money laundering ii. Legal Sector Vulnerabilities set out in Ireland’s National Risk Assessment iii. The Internationally Recognised Money Laundering Typologies in Legal Sector iv. The Internationally Recognised ML/TF Red Flag Indicators in the Legal Sector v. Comparative ML/TF vulnerabilities observed by the SRA in England and Wales. vi. Comparative Guidance for the legal sector in England and Wales, published by the Legal Sector Affinity Group and approved by HM Treasury STEP 2-Draft your firm’s Business Risk Assessment 17 • Customer type • Products and services provided by the solicitors’ firm • Countries/geographical areas • Transaction type • Delivery channel type STEP 3-Consider adapting the Society’s Business Risk Assessment Template 18 STEP 4-Obtain Senior Management Approval of the firm’s Business Risk Assessment 18 STEP 5-Keep Business Risk Assessments under review in line with Policies, Controls and Procedures 18 INDEX SECTION TITLE PAGE 3 POLICIES, CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES A BACKGROUND 19 • Are Policies, Controls and Procedures a new concept? B THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT 19 • What’s new? • What does the new section 54 require? C INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO PREPARE PCPS 21 • What should PCPs include/cover? • Who is responsible for developing and monitoring/keeping PCPs up-to-date? • What is the Society’s recommended approach to bring your current AML policies up-to-date with new PCP requirements? D WHAT AREAS SHOULD PCPS COVER? 23 1. ML/TF risk management practices 2. CDD controls 3. Reliance and record keeping 4. How ML/TF suspicions are managed 5. Review, monitoring and management of compliance with the PCPs E WHO DO PCPS APPLY TO IN A FIRM? 27 F WHAT ARE THE ADDITIONAL PCP MEASURES WHICH THE LAW SOCIETY CAN DIRECT A SOLICITORS’ FIRM TO TAKE? 28 G INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEW REQUIREMENT TO HAVE SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO RESPOND TO ENQUIRIES FROM AN GARDA SIOCHANA 29 4 CUSTOMER RISK ASSESSMENTS A BACKGROUND 30 • Are Customer Risk Assessments a new concept? • What is the purpose of the change? • Existing guidance about how to assess customer/legal service ML/TF Risk B THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT 31 • What’s new? • What does the new section 30B require? • What does section 30B mean in practice for solicitors? C INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO COMPLETE CUSTOMER RISK ASSESSMENTS 34 • What is the society’s guidance for solicitors when complying with 30B requirements? • Consider adapting the Society’s Sample Customer Risk Assessment Forms D WHAT ARE THE SOCIETY’S EXPECTATIONS IN RELATION TO THE NEW STATUTORY CUSTOMER RISK ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS? 35 5 UPDATED CHAPTER 5 CUSTOMER DUE DILIGENCE GUIDANCE A SUMMARY 37 1. Standard CDD (sec

FAQs

What is the purpose of the 2018 AML guidance for solicitors?

It explains how the 2018 Act affects solicitor AML duties, outlines key changes to guidance and obligations, and provides practical transition steps to reach full compliance.

What is required to conduct business risk assessments under the 2018 Act?

Business risk assessments must be conducted as a statutory requirement, supported by current best-practice guidance and a step-by-step approach covering inherent legal-service risks and how to draft and review the assessment.

How does the guidance structure customer due diligence (CDD) for different risk levels?

Updated Chapter 5 presents standard CDD measures, simplified CDD eligibility criteria, and enhanced CDD duties for complex/unusual transactions, PEP status, and clients in high-risk third countries.

Sep 12, 2026

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