Money Laundering Checks

Property Buyer as regulated property buying company abide to the UK law for Money Laundering Regulations. Property Buyer for each transaction undertake thorough due diligence on all customers so that we are comfortable with their true identity.

Property Buyer subsequently have internal monitoring systems to satisfy that our customers are not involved with fraudulent activity.

Property Buyers due diligence means establishing from the outset:

  • The vendors name
  • Their photograph on an official document (passport / driving license etc) which confirms their true identity
  • Their residential / correspondence address and recent utility bills

Property Buyer requests this information and all documentation must be original in order for us to continue with the property transaction. Property Buyer will arrange for an external agency to meet you at your property so that the homeowner is met in person so that photographs / photocopies of documents can be carried out to satisfy our money laundering checks. Once Property Buyer are in receipt of all necessary documents these will be analysed in more detail using fraud detection software. The documents Property Buyer and our solicitors will require are:

  • 6 months bank statements of your current account or of the account where the proceeds of the sale are to be received. For Property Buyer’s purpose, the bank statements must have your current address on.
  • Photo driving license and paper counterpart (ideally).
  • Council tax bill and minimum 2 x recent utility bills (within last 3 months)
  • Passport (needs to be up to date)
  • Building Insurance policy for the residential property

All customers will be photographed in person and will be required to provide their signatures in the presence of our external agency representative.

Property Buyer can also request an original electoral register and information held by Equifax or Experian (credit reference agencies). If Property Buyer has any doubts at all about your identity, we won’t continue to deal with you until we are completely satisfied of your identity.

Property Buyer as regulated property buying company will apply extensive money laundering checks when:

  • A transaction is due to take place over 15,000 euros
  • A new business relationship has been established
  • There is a suspicion of money laundering
  • There are suspicions about a customer’s identification
  • If circumstances change with an existing customer

Property Buyer will undertake further due diligence when the following situations arise:

  • If the customer isn’t physically present when identification checks are undertaken
  • When a business relationship takes place with a politically exposed person
  • Any situation where there’s a high risk of money laundering

Property Buyers legal notice to property sellers

Property Buyer is a founding member of the NAPB (National Association of Property Buyers) and its property services are monitored by the Property Ombudsman and we are committed to preventing fraud. The Quick House Sale sector has recently become targeted by fraudulent sellers and this is why Property Buyer are very cautious about establishing the true identity of the customer from the outset.

Property Buyer is committed to combating Money Laundering and the prevention of fraud and identity theft. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is the primary legislation on money laundering and Property Buyer undertake physical and documentary checks to prove homeowners identity and proof of home ownership.

If clients of Property Buyer decide not to choose a recommended solicitor through Property Buyer we will have to undertake extensive due diligence checks on your legal firm. If Property Buyer suspects any sign of fraudulent activity we will report the offence to our Money Laundering Regulatory Officer (MLRO) who reports directly to the National Crime Agency.

Property Buyers warning to fraudsters

Property Buyer purchases properties quickly and for this reason we can be targeted by fraudsters who attempt identity theft. Identity theft is generally where the property owner gives the impression that they are the property owners and then sell the property without the knowledge of the true owner.

Property Buyers staff are fully compliant with money laundering legislation and counter fraud measures and have a good working relationship with the relevant authorities.

Property Buyer has an excellent relationship with the National Crime Agency and we report any suspicions at all times. We report our suspicions in confidence to the National Crime Agency with a view to catching fraudsters in the act of identity theft.

All telephone calls are recorded at Property Buyer for training and monitoring purposes.

We are regulated by...

Property Buyer remains the most regulated property buying company in the Quick House Sale sector

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