Overview
- The government designated the Financial Conduct Authority as the Single Professional Services Supervisor to oversee AML/CTF compliance across legal services, accountancy firms and trust and company service providers.
- Regulated lawyers will be overseen by the FCA for AML matters while retaining their existing professional regulators for all non‑AML issues.
- Implementation depends on Parliament passing enabling legislation, agreement on funding, and a detailed transition plan, with timing tied to parliamentary scheduling.
- The Treasury says centralising supervision will enable a risk‑based, data‑driven approach across roughly 60,000 firms and allow stronger enforcement, while aiming to minimise duplicated registrations and fees.
- FCA enforcement leader Steve Smart welcomed the move as simplifying oversight, as the Law Society and practitioners cautioned about costs, sector fit and a reduced role for the SRA after its bid to be sole legal supervisor was rejected.