Skip to content
Law Society of Scotland
Search
Find a Solicitor
Contact us
About us
Sign in
Search
Find a Solicitor
Contact us
About us
Sign in
  • For members

    • For members

    • CPD & Training

    • Membership and fees

    • Rules and guidance

    • Regulation and compliance

    • Journal

    • Business support

    • Career growth

    • Member benefits

    • Professional support

    • Lawscot Wellbeing

    • Lawscot Sustainability

  • News and events

    • News and events

    • Law Society news

    • Blogs & opinions

    • CPD & Training

    • Events

  • Qualifying and education

    • Qualifying and education

    • Qualifying as a Scottish solicitor

    • Career support and advice

    • Our work with schools

    • Lawscot Foundation

    • Funding your education

    • Social mobility

  • Research and policy

    • Research and policy

    • Research

    • Influencing the law and policy

    • Equality and diversity

    • Our international work

    • Legal Services Review

    • Meet the Policy team

  • For the public

    • For the public

    • What solicitors can do for you

    • Making a complaint

    • Client protection

    • Find a Solicitor

    • Frequently asked questions

    • Your Scottish solicitor

  • About us

    • About us

    • Contact us

    • Who we are

    • Our strategy, reports and plans

    • Help and advice

    • Our standards

    • Work with us

    • Our logo and branding

    • Equality and diversity

  1. Home
  2. For members
  3. Journal Archive
  4. Issues
  5. April 2017
  6. Q & A corner: client due diligence at a distance

Q & A corner: client due diligence at a distance

Professional Practice advice: acceptable documents when clients are elsewhere
17th April 2017

Q. My clients are based down in the south of England and cannot meet me face to face to discuss matters and let me do the normal money laundering checks. They are asking about sending me ID documents for money laundering to let me carry out client due diligence. When I spoke to them they said that they are planning to use the Post Office document-certifying service for certification of documents, rather than send me the originals. Is that acceptable and will that mean I have complied with the Society rules?

A. Although the Post Office service is no doubt very useful for many people, for the purposes of solicitors doing money laundering checks it is not good enough and any ID certified by the Post Office cannot be relied on. Ideally, the client needs to send you the originals of the documents so you can satisfy yourself about their authenticity. If that is not possible, you will need to use the rule which allows you to place reliance on the actions of other “regulated persons”. That would involve your clients going to a local solicitor (or one of the following: regulated accountant, regulated tax adviser, regulated insolvency practitioner, regulated auditor, an authorised credit or financial institution or a consumer credit financial institution), who can examine and certify the documents and allow you to rely on that certification to be comfortable that you have complied with your own obligations.

Share this article
Add To Favorites
https://lawware.co.uk/

In this issue

  • Pursuers' offers: proceed with care (1)
  • Article 50: today, tomorrow and the two-year myth
  • Tackling bribery: follow the US?
  • Small holdings, big complexities
  • Brexit: white paper, muddy waters
  • Reading for pleasure
  • Opinion: Caroline Kelly
  • Book reviews
  • Profile
  • President's column
  • Land Register applications – the inside view
  • People on the move
  • Help on our shores
  • The importance of thinking differently
  • A new crime scene
  • Embarking on the UK-EU negotiations
  • Pursuers' offers: proceed with care
  • From discount to premium
  • The law, standing accused
  • Equality – the global agenda
  • The Discount Rate – what next?
  • It's not over until it's over!
  • Sheriff and jury – the big changeover
  • Rates? Sorry, can’t help you there
  • Looking beyond the U-turn
  • Planning gain all round?
  • Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal
  • Nil rate IHT and the family home
  • Voice of experience
  • Quality Assurance Criteria amended
  • Law reform roundup
  • Ask Ash
  • All change in the PRS
  • I think you would like this
  • Master Policy – what will be different?
  • Scottish Arbitration Survey: please help
  • Q & A corner: client due diligence at a distance
  • Cybersecurity demystified
  • Confidentiality and third-party complaints
  • 1,000 student associates!

Recent Issues

Dec 2023
Nov 2023
Oct 2023
Sept 2023
Search the archive

Additional

Law Society of Scotland
Atria One, 144 Morrison Street
Edinburgh
EH3 8EX
If you’re looking for a solicitor, visit FindaSolicitor.scot
T: +44(0) 131 226 7411
E: lawscot@lawscot.org.uk
About us
  • Contact us
  • Who we are
  • Strategy reports plans
  • Help and advice
  • Our standards
  • Work with us
Useful links
  • Find a Solicitor
  • Sign in
  • CPD & Training
  • Rules and guidance
  • Website terms and conditions
Law Society of Scotland | © 2025
Made by Gecko Agency Limited