Anti-Money Laundering Information

Macgregor Thomson Limited is required by law to comply with anti-money laundering legislation and regulatory requirements.

These requirements apply to all Scottish solicitors and are designed to help prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud and other criminal activity.

Before we can act in many matters, we may be required to verify the identity of our clients and obtain information about the purpose and nature of a transaction.

Depending upon the circumstances, we may ask clients to provide information and documentation including:

• Proof of identity.
• Proof of residential address.
• Information regarding the purpose of a transaction.
• Evidence of the source of funds being used.
• Information regarding the source of wealth where appropriate.
• Additional information required to satisfy legal or regulatory obligations.

The information required will vary depending upon the nature of the matter and the level of verification considered necessary.

In certain transactions, particularly those involving the transfer of money or property, we may be required to obtain evidence showing where funds have originated.

Examples may include bank statements, savings records, evidence of a property sale, inheritance documentation, business income records or other supporting information.

Where funds are being provided by a third party, additional information and documentation may also be required.

Where we act for a company, partnership, trust or other organisation, we may require information regarding the structure, ownership and control of that entity.

This may include information relating to directors, partners, trustees, shareholders, beneficial owners and individuals authorised to provide instructions on behalf of the organisation.

We may also carry out checks using information obtained from publicly available registers and other reliable sources.

To assist in meeting our legal obligations, we may use electronic verification services and other appropriate methods to verify identity and information provided to us.

These checks may involve searching information held by credit reference agencies, public databases or other trusted sources. Such checks are carried out for identification and verification purposes and are not intended to assess creditworthiness.

Anti-money laundering obligations may require us to obtain updated information during the course of a matter or where circumstances change.

We may therefore request additional information or documentation from time to time in order to satisfy our ongoing legal and regulatory obligations.

Information obtained for anti-money laundering purposes will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection legislation and our Privacy Policy.

We take appropriate steps to protect information provided to us and will only use or disclose such information where permitted or required by law.

Solicitors are prohibited from acting in certain circumstances unless appropriate client due diligence requirements have been satisfied.

If requested information or documentation is not provided, we may be unable to commence work, continue acting or complete a transaction.

If you have any questions regarding our anti-money laundering requirements or the information we have requested, please contact us and we will be happy to explain why the information is needed.