The UK Government has revised its AML and CFT supervision, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) becoming the sole professional services supervisor.
Coming as part of the government’s reform of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CFT) supervision regime, the FCA will be appointed as the single professional services supervisor, while the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) will have a substantially reduced role. These adjustments follow HM Treasury’s 2023 consultation for reforming AML and CFT supervision.
HM Treasury’s consultation and its current outcome
Back in June 2023, HM Treasury published a consultation on reform of the UK’s AML and CFT supervisory system, with the move falling in line with a commitment in the Economic Crime Plan 2023-6. This was aimed at mitigating money laundering and terrorism financing, which, even now, continue to cause issues for the UK population and enable abuse of its economy by bad actors.
Before its October 2025 decision, the AML/CFT supervisory system included three statutory supervisors: the FCA, the Gambling Commission, and HMRC, as well as 22 professional body supervisors (PBSs) who focus on the legal and accountancy sectors. These organisations ensured that both companies and individuals across the UK complied with the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) and took the necessary actions if these requirements were breached. Additionally, as part of their duties, they had to ensure that only competent individuals hold management roles in regulated businesses.
At that time, the government also mentioned the 2022 Review of the UK’s AML/CFT regulatory and supervisory regime, which concluded that even if there were some improvements, limitations in supervision might need to be tackled through structural reform. HM Treasury was requesting opinions on whether to scale requirements on supervisors and their regulated populations in regard to sanctions compliance.
The consultation was open for three months, from June to the end of September 2023, with individuals being able to respond through a secure survey.
October 2025 outcome
The consultation received 95 responses from a range of UK stakeholders, with the government summarising these opinions and setting out its decision to consolidate responsibility for AML/CFT supervision of legal, accountancy and trust, and company service providers. The FCA took this role and its responsibilities, aiming to scale the country’s ability to defend against illicit finance and facilitate sustainable growth.
The FCA is set to supervise companies that conduct activities within the scope of the MLRs, including legal service providers, accountancy service providers, and trust and company service providers. Currently, the reform is subject to the passage of enabling legislation, confirmation of funding arrangements, and development of a transition and provision plan. Therefore, the exact date at which the FCA will begin its supervision will depend on the availability of parliamentary time.
