Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs(HMRC), a department of the United Kingdom responsible for regulatory regimes, has fined Touma Foreign Exchange Ltd almost ten million dollars for breaching money laundering regulations. This fine follows a crackdown in July where officers executed warrants at 12 separate addresses and arrested two men. HMRC and Metropolitan Police officers are working to educate business, performing visits and hand-delivering thousands of leaflets. HMRC also visited five high-risk money service businesses and decided to take civil action against four to make sure these businesses following regulations. Firms in the United Kingdom need to follow strict anti-money laundering and know your customer compliance/regulations. Simon York, director of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, stated that “. . . a word to the wise for those firms who, either by ignorance or design, continue to flaunt the rules – this record fine shows we mean business, so get your house in order before we come knocking.”

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