Carrot or stick? The future for AML supervision of the legal sector

The events of the last year have resulted an unprecedented focus on the role of the legal sector in enhancing the UK’s reputation as a haven for dirty money. The sector has long been felt to have a problem with meeting its anti-money laundering (AML) regulatory obligations and there has always been an uneasy tension between AML and other core tenets like professional privilege and the right to legal representation.