Bookies `must do more to defeat money launderers'.

Byline: GRAHAM GREEN

BRITAIN'S bookmaking industry stands accused of not making sufficient contribution to the fight against money laundering.

The charge follows a finding that betting firms provided just 16 of a record 18,408 reports of suspicious transactions received by the National Criminal Intelligence Service's (NCIS) Economic Crime Unit from the financial sector last year.

Money laundering, defined as assisting a criminal to hide the proceeds of crime, attracts a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both.

However, provision exists for professionals to report suspicions of money laundering to the law enforcement agencies, and legislation allows that making a disclosure shall not be treated as a breach of any duty of confidentiality to a client.

Racing is widely accepted as a potential market place for cleansing the proceeds of drug dealing and tobacco smuggling, but with punters still paying a nine per cent deduction in betting shops, transactions of this nature are much more likely to be attempted on the racecourse, where the Jockey Club security department maintains a presence.

Also, bookmakers are not subject to the same stringent reporting regulations as the financial services industry, from which banks accounted for more than half the 18,408 disclosures.

However, ECU head Andy Blezzard wants greater input from the betting industry and said yesterday: "The ECU will continue to work with other sectors showing low reporting rates such as betting and gaming organisations, money transmission agents and bureaux de change, to improve the quality and quantity of suspicious transaction reports received."

He also highlighted disappointing returns from solicitors and accountants, adding: "Concerns remain that some of the financial institutions and other sectors lack sufficient adherence to the regulations and disclosure obligations, and may not have adequate training provisions and reporting systems in place, leaving them vulnerable to laundering attempts."

Ladbrokes' spokesman Sean Boyce insisted Britain's largest bookmakers "always notify NCIS of anything that we think is untoward".

Warwick Bartlett, who represents the British Betting Office Association, said: "If an independent bookmaker sees what they suspect to be money laundering, they would certainly report it, and a man with just one shop has a greater facility to do so than the big firms, because he has the customer in front of him and can ask him questions."

Bartlett added: "This issue was discussed at the Home Office on Monday as part of the Gambling Review and I expect that once the Gambling Commission is brought into place, they'll lay down proper guidelines that bookmakers must adhere to. Speaking for the BBOA, we'd welcome that."

CAPTION(S):

Warwick Bartlett Would welcome guidelines