Estate agents in Gibraltar face fines of between £6,400 and £15,000 after breaching anti-money laundering rules.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on The Rock says it has fined eight officers totaling £11,500 and is set to impose six more.
Inspections at 24 offices resulted in fines for offenses under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2015 and the Preventing Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Anti-Money Laundering Sanctions Act 2019 of proliferation.
The OFT has also updated its anti-money laundering guidelines for the property sector, with new guidance on conducting customer due diligence, sourcing funds, and counter-proliferation financing.
£7,000 fine
In March the OFT imposed a £7,000 fine on the local estate agent, KS Investments (Gibraltar) Limited, trading as Kristina Szekely International Realty.
The sanction was issued because the OFT identified various breaches and shortcomings in the way the company implemented its anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing obligations.
The shortcomings and shortcomings were identified during a visit to the company’s premises. Another officer, anonymous, was fined £5,000 in 2020 for AML offences.
Gibraltar is a reputedly tight community with only 32,000 people living and working in an area of 2.6 square miles. There are just under 30 estate agents, with several well-known UK companies such as Savills and Chesterton.
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