LONDON: The United Kingdom’s updated money laundering regulations will come into force on 30 June 2026, marking a significant recalibration of the country’s anti-money laundering framework as regulators seek to strengthen enforcement while making compliance rules more proportionate for firms.icaew+1
The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2026 were made on 9 June 2026 and are scheduled to begin on 30 June 2026, according to the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives’ regulatory update and guidance published by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. The reforms follow HM Treasury’s consultation on improving the effectiveness of the Money Laundering Regulations and are designed to refine several long-standing obligations in the UK AML regime.lawscot.org+1
One of the main changes concerns enhanced due diligence, or EDD. Under the updated rules, EDD will apply to transactions that are “unusually complex” rather than simply “complex,” a wording change intended to reduce defensive over-compliance and better target genuinely suspicious activity. The revisions also clarify EDD triggers for unusually large transactions and transactions with no apparent economic or legal purpose, keeping those risk-based obligations in place.clc-uk+1
Another major adjustment relates to transactions and business relationships involving higher-risk jurisdictions. The new regulations shift the focus from FATF grey-list countries to FATF call-for-action countries, meaning mandatory EDD will apply only to jurisdictions on the black list rather than the broader list of countries under increased monitoring. Officials and professional bodies have said the change is meant to concentrate scrutiny on the countries presenting the greatest risk to the UK while still allowing firms to consider grey-list status as part of their wider risk assessment.lawscot.org+1
The reforms also update currency references in the regulations by replacing euro-denominated thresholds with pound sterling figures, including the well-known €10,000 threshold becoming £10,000. Supporters of the change say it improves clarity for UK-regulated firms and removes a foreign-currency reference that no longer fits the domestic compliance landscape.icaew+1
Trust-related obligations are also being expanded. The new rules bring the sale of off-the-shelf companies within the scope of trust and company service provider requirements, closing a gap that regulators and industry bodies had identified in the current AML framework. The changes are meant to ensure customer due diligence covers the full range of TCSP services and reduce opportunities for misuse of corporate structures.clc-uk+1
The Trust Registration Service is also receiving updates. According to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the reforms widen registration requirements for certain non-UK trusts holding an interest in UK land and property acquired before 6 October 2020, while also adding a de minimis exemption for some low-risk, low-value trusts. These amendments are designed to address reporting gaps and improve the quality of beneficial ownership information available to authorities.clc-uk
Professional bodies have begun warning regulated firms to prepare immediately. The CLC said practices should review the explanatory memorandum and update internal AML processes ahead of the commencement date, while ICAEW noted that firms should continue focusing on compliance with the money laundering regulations regardless of supervisory changes. ICAEW also said the forthcoming changes are part of a broader effort to make supervision more effective without waiting for longer-term reform of the UK AML oversight model.icaew+2
The timing of the update is significant for firms across legal, property, accountancy, and corporate services sectors, all of which are heavily exposed to customer due diligence and suspicious activity reporting obligations. By narrowing certain triggers and clarifying others, the government appears to be aiming for a more risk-sensitive framework that still preserves the core preventive purpose of the regulations.icaew+2
For compliance teams, the immediate challenge is operational readiness. Firms will need to revise policies, retrain staff, review client onboarding procedures, reassess risk-rating models, and ensure screening tools and due diligence checks reflect the new thresholds and jurisdictional definitions before 30 June. Sector guidance suggests that firms should not wait for further amendments and should instead prepare on the basis that the main package of reforms will start at the end of the month.