Proposed amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2008 (POCA) and the Anti-Terrorism and Crime Act 2003 (ATCA) in respect of Tipping-off

A public consultation was undertaken by the Cabinet Office between the 6 March 2019 and 11 April 2019 to seek comments on proposed amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2008 and Anti-Terrorism and Crime Act 2003.

The proposed amendments sought to address a number of technical compliance deficiencies and other issues highlighted in the MONEYVAL Mutual Evaluation Report of the Isle of Man, pertaining to tipping-off.

The MONEYVAL assessors considered that legislation in respect of tipping-off was set too narrowly as tipping-off only occurs in IoM legislation when disclosure that a suspicious activity report (SAR) has been made is likely to prejudice an investigation. This is not commensurate with FATF ‘Recommendation 21 – Tipping-Off and Confidentiality’.

It was therefore proposed that the tipping-off offence in POCA was amended and that a new tipping-off offence was introduced in ATCA compliant with FATF Recommendation 21 but that further allows proper liaison within the regulated and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP) sectors when suspicions are held and to provide for voluntary information sharing, in certain circumstances.

In total, the Cabinet Office received 3 responses to the consultation.

The responses highlighted concerns in respect of the proposed ‘voluntary information sharing` provisions, as it was believed that the amendments would go beyond FATF requirements and could lead to an unnecessary increased risk of tipping-off.

We would like to thank those that took the time to answer the consultation.

Following the consultation period a decision was made not to proceed with the proposed amendments in respect of ‘voluntary information sharing within the regulated sector` and that these provisions would reviewed at a later date; preferably when there was more evidence available to support the effectiveness of this measure in the UK.

The amendments that detail the circumstances in which a tipping-off offence is committed, shall be the only provision to remain from the consultation; this will be laid before Tynwald for approval in the coming months.