Are You Registered? The National Crime Agency Releases New SAR Portal

Are You Registered? The National Crime Agency Releases New SAR Portal
Written by Jen Siwicki BA (HONS) AICA Cert (KYC/CDD), Senior AML Consultant, FCS Compliance

On 18 September 2023, the National Crime Agency (NCA) officially released a new SAR reporting portal for all reporting organisations. The reporting system is controlled by the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) and is the mechanism by which those within the regulated sector submit Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in accordance with ‘The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002’ (POCA). This includes SARs being submitted for intelligence purposes only and for those seeking a ‘Defence Against Money Laundering’ (DAML).

For anyone submitting a SAR for the first time, they will now be required to register and use the new system. The UKFIU have advised that the old system will be decommissioned by the end of the year and as such recommend those who have used the old system in the past should re-register on the new portal as soon as possible, this will not happen automatically and need to be actioned by each organisation.

For organisation users, the first person in your organisation to register will be asked to provide a phone number, email address, main and alternative contact details. They will also need to provide your organisation’s name, address, company registration number, and your AML Supervisory body. To ensure that these details are accurate, it is recommended that the first registered user is an official responsible for Anti-Money Laundering Compliance within the organisation, such as your MLRO or Nominated Officer. Once the first person has registered, subsequent users registering as part of that organisation will ONLY be able to register via an invitation from (a) registered user(s).

New guidance has been released by the NCA, which includes information on how to register. This can be accessed here: NCA SARs Programme nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk.

Further information can be found here: SAR Portal | Landing page (nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk) including a link at the bottom to the registration page.

For support on this topic, please email info@fcscompliance.co.uk.

^{Related link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7d7b6740f0b64fe6c23fae/Fact_Sheet_-_Overview_of_POCA__2_.pdf
Article written October 2023.}