The fines are for offences in the second half of last year, with firms found to have failed to comply with money laundering regulations which HMRC said are designed to prevent criminals from “exploiting illicit cash”.
In total, fines of £3.2m were issued, with property businesses accounting for more than £1m of that sum.
In many cases, the issues related to failing to apply for registration at the required time.
For example RW Invest, a property investment firm based in Tunbridge Wells, was fined £44,210 after failing to apply for registration in time, while 1st Lettings Property Services, based in Coventry, was fined £14,850 for the same issue.
Other property firms fined for AML failings include:
- Lettings Angels ‒ fined £14,500
- Clicklettings ‒ fined £14,500
- Island Homes Kent ‒ fined £14,500
- Karwood Properties ‒ fined £14,500
- Knights MK ‒ fined £13,261
- Lighthouse Estate Agents ‒ fined £14,500
- Natalie Clarke Residential ‒ fined £14,500
- Property Management (London) ‒ fined £14,500
- Spencer Jakeman Property Management ‒ fined £14,500
- Tooting Estate Agents ‒ fined £14,500
- Doyle Sales and Lettings ‒ fined £14,365
- Oliver and Akers ‒ fined £14,500
- Elite Sales and Lettings ‒ fined £14,500
- Nolan Redshaw ‒ fined £14,039
- Harrisons Lettings & Management ‒ fined £14,000
- Viking Estate Agents ‒ fined £13,800
- Rent Assured Property Services ‒ fined £13,729
- Alex Harvey Estate Agents ‒ fined £13,700
- Mark Simon Estates ‒ fined £13,523
Nick Sharp, deputy director of economic crime, fraud investigation service at HMRC, emphasised that money laundering was not a “victimless crime”.
He continued: “We are here to help businesses protect themselves from criminal attacks and will continue to tackle the minority of businesses which do not comply with the money laundering regulations. Serious and organised crime costs the UK billions of pounds every year and our anti-money laundering supervision is a vital tool in combatting that.”
