Suspicious Activity Report (SAR)
A disclosure made by a person in the regulated sector — such as a bank, solicitor or accountant — who knows or suspects that a transaction involves money laundering. Failing to make one where required is itself a criminal offence.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Section 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 creates the offence of failure to disclose in the regulated sector: a person commits an offence if they know or suspect, or have reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting, that another person is engaged in money laundering, based on information that came to them in the course of a business in the regulated sector, and they fail to make the required disclosure — commonly called a Suspicious Activity Report — to a nominated officer or a person authorised by the National Crime Agency as soon as is practicable.
The Act specifies what the required disclosure must contain: the identity of the other person mentioned in subsection (2), if he knows it, and the whereabouts of the laundered property, so far as he knows it, together with the information or other matter that gave rise to the knowledge or suspicion. A disclosure to a nominated officer within a firm — typically the Money Laundering Reporting Officer — satisfies the duty provided it is made in the course of the discloser's employment, and the nominated officer will in turn assess whether to pass a report on to the National Crime Agency.
Related terms
Official sources
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