Claire Cross comments on the planned launch of OPBAS in The Wall Street Journal and PaymentsCompliance

The Government is planning to launch the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) – a new group that will sit within the FCA – in an effort to crack down on ill-gotten gains and dirty money.

Claire Cross, Of Counsel at Corker Binning, commented:

“In respect of anti money laundering (AML) supervision, the question of ‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodies?’, or ‘Who guards the guards?’, has now been definitively answered.

The Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) that is to be set up within the FCA will undoubtedly be viewed as a coup by Andrew Bailey and Rob Grupetta, both of whom have worked tirelessly to position AML centre stage at the regulator.

It is clear that FCA Supervision teams and OPBAS will need to work closely to ensure that advice and guidance provided to the industry is coordinated, and to guarantee that cracks, which has been a key government concern, do not emerge here.”

Read Claire’s comments in The Wall Street Journal and PaymentsCompliance.