17/9/2004 - Money laundering postal scam

Cumbria County Council’s trading standards department are warning businesses to be on the lookout for the latest postal scam.

Businesses all over the UK have received a "final notice" from the Money Laundering Support Team, Lyme House, 98 Plane Tree Drive, Crewe.

This final notice is an official looking document. It is headed "The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, The Money Laundering Regulations 2003, (Part II Section 3)" and states "that despite previous correspondence we have still not received your reply for compliance via our anti-money laundering training compliance pack and registration scheme. Failure to comply with the procedures mentioned in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, from 1 September 2004 constitutes a criminal offence".

Head of trading standards, Phil Ashcroft said: 

"The County Council's advice to businesses is that this notice has not been sent by an official government agency and you should not send money. Under the new regulations there are some obligations on businesses to ensure that their employees are aware of the money laundering regulations. If any business has any concerns after receiving this letter, they can contact Cumbria Police Finance Investigation Unit on (01768) 891999".