Barristers’ Anti-Money Laundering Obligations

The LSRA is the competent authority for all barristers in relation to anti-money laundering obligations. On this page you will find out about barristers’ obligations under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, as amended (Act). While practising barristers are “designated persons” under the Act, the obligations under the Act only apply where the barrister acts as a “relevant independent legal professional”, as defined in the Act.

Guidance for barristers

About the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (Act), as amended and its applicability to barristers engaged in certain types of work.

The LSRA is the competent authority under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (Act), as amended, for all barristers. This means barristers who are members of the Law Library and barristers who are not members of the Law Library.

The role of a competent authority includes effectively monitoring barristers, as designated persons, and taking measures that are reasonably necessary for securing compliance with the provisions of the Act.

Purpose of this guidance

This guidance is provided as part of the LSRA’s overall role as a competent authority under the Act. It is intended to provide general information for all barristers to support and assist them in complying with their obligations.

It is the responsibility of each individual practising barrister to comply with the Act.

Where obligations under the Act arise relating to a business risk assessment, a designated person is required to have regard to any guidance on risk issued by the LSRA.

* The information provided here is intended as guidance only, is not exhaustive and does not purport to be legal advice or to provide a legal interpretation of the Act. Barristers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Act and to satisfy themselves that they are in compliance with the Act.

This guidance is up-to-date as of 11.03.2024. This information is subject to change.

Background Information

What is money laundering and terrorist financing?

The Department of Justice (at https://www.amlcompliance.ie/money-laundering-terrorist-financing-are-you-aware/ ) describes money laundering as –

“Money laundering is the process by which proceeds of crime are transformed into ostensibly legitimate money or other assets. The term ‘money laundering’ has become conflated with forms of financial crime and is sometimes used more generally to include misuse of the financial system (involving digital currencies, credit cards and traditional currencies) including terrorist financing, tax evasion and evading international sanctions.

Money Laundering is commonly defined as happening in 3 steps:

Placement – Introduction of cash into the financial system by some means;
Layering – To undertake complex financial transactions to camouflage the illegal source;
Integration – The acquisition of wealth generated from the transactions of the illicit funds.”

Terrorist financing is described, on the same webpage, as –

“Terrorist Financing refers to the processing of funds to sponsor or facilitate terrorist activity. A terrorist group builds and maintains an infrastructure to facilitate the development of sources of funding for their own requirements and possibly to launder the funds used in terrorist activity.

Terrorist organisations derive income from a variety of sources, often combining both lawful and unlawful funding which can be grouped into two types:

Financial Support – In the form of donations, community solicitation and other fund-raising initiatives. Financial support may come from States, from large organisations or from individuals.
Revenue Generating Activities – Income from criminal activities such as kidnapping, extortion, smuggling or fraud. Income may also be derived from legitimate economic activities such as diamond trading or real estate investment.

Terrorist groups will want to disguise illegal funds while at the same time preserving the continuity of or maximising revenue from legitimate sources. The need to camouflage the sources of funds means that terrorist financing has certain similarities with traditional money laundering namely the use of the three steps i.e. to place, layer and integrate the funds in the international financial system.

One significant difference between traditional money laundering and terrorist financing is that:

the investigation of financial transactions in traditional money laundering is done in order to link the funds to a criminal act that has already taken place and to strip the criminal and any accomplices from the economic benefits of engaging in criminal behaviour.
in terrorist financing the investigation is done to prevent individuals gaining access to funds that could finance future criminal activity.”

Is there a risk of money laundering and terrorist financing in the legal services sector?

Yes, albeit the risk for barristers is lower than for solicitors who hold client monies.

The National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing (report), prepared by the Anti-Money Laundering Section of the Department of Finance and Department of Justice with the collaboration of the National Anti-Money Laundering Steering Committee, in April 2019, assessed the overall risk (at paragraph 6.70) as follows –

“The overall ML/TF risk in the legal services sector is judged to be Medium-High, while the risk for barristers practising in the Law Library is significantly lower than that for solicitors who hold client assets. While awareness of and compliance with AML/CFT obligations has improved across the legal services sector, the nature of services provided by legal professionals, the scale and variety of the their sector and the low level of STR [suspicious transaction] reporting all tend to increase the overall money laundering risk.”

By way of further explanation, the report included the following (at paragraph 6.59) –

“The specialist nature of the knowledge and services provided by the legal services sector makes solicitors and barristers vulnerable to being sought out and exploited by criminals who seek to launder the proceeds of crime or evade tax. This is because the involvement of legal professionals is necessary to complete certain transactions which are attractive to criminals.”

Later (at paragraph 6.66 of the report) –

“Law enforcement intelligence suggests that the exploitation of legal services may occur in respect of high-end or more sophisticated money laundering, involving a wide range of perpetrator types. While there are intelligence gaps in respect of the scale of proceeds being laundered in connection with legal services, the risk of money laundering is heightened by the nature and scale of transactions for which legal services are necessary and also by the fact that legal services providers must serve a wide variety of clients ranging from persons in need of subsidised legal services to corporate clients and high-net worth individuals …”

(For a complete list of reports related to National Risk Assessment and to access the these reports, please see the information available.)

The LSRA encourages barristers to familiarise themselves with the offences of money laundering and terrorist financing to avoid any unintentional involvement in these offences.

The Bar of Ireland, in its guidance on anti-money laundering obligations for Law Library members, identified some examples of matters that might, but would not necessarily, give rise to a reasonable suspicion of AML or terrorist offences. The examples provided were in relation to a barristers’ reporting obligations. With the kind permission of the Bar of Ireland, some of these examples are reproduced here:

undue levels of secrecy e.g. where the client is unwilling to disclose his or her personal details without good reason;
peculiar instructions e.g. where the transaction is obviously uneconomical or against the client’s apparent interests; where the transaction is out of the ordinary course of business for the client;
sham litigation e.g. where litigation is settled very quickly; where disproportional avoidable loss is incurred; where higher than normal legal fees are paid which are out of proportion to the work involved;
large levels of funds e.g. where the client is conducting large transactions in cash; client is seeking to lodge large sums of money with a barristers’ instructing solicitor pending advice/outcome;
high risk countries. e.g. where the transaction involves jurisdictions known to be providing funding to terrorist activities or in which terrorist organisations are operating.

The above examples are intended to illustrate some of the matters which might raise a concern. (The above are examples only and are not exhaustive).

Barristers should also be aware that terrorist financing may involve relatively small sums of money or money that originates from legitimate sources.

Please see Other resources section below for a non-exhaustive list of other resources which may provide additional background and other general information.

What is the LSRA’s role under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (Act), as amended?

Since the 23 April 2021, the LSRA has been the competent authority for all barristers i.e. barristers who are members of the Law Library and barristers who are not members of the Law Library.

The role of competent authority includes effectively monitoring barristers, as designated persons, and taking measures that are reasonably necessary for securing compliance with the provisions of the Act.

The functions of competent authorities are set out in Chapter 8 of Part 4 of the Act, entitled “Monitoring of designated persons”. Section 63 of the Act provides –

“(1) A competent authority shall effectively monitor the designated persons for whom it is a competent authority and take measures that are reasonably necessary for the purpose of securing compliance by those designated persons with the requirements specified in this Part.

(2) The measures that are reasonably necessary include reporting to the Garda Síochána and Revenue Commissioners any knowledge or suspicion that the competent authority has that a designated person has been or is engaged in money laundering or terrorist financing.

(3) In determining, in any particular case, whether a designated person has complied with any of the requirements specified in this Part, a competent authority shall consider whether the person is able to demonstrate to the competent authority that the requirements have been met.

(4) A competent authority that, in the course of monitoring a designated person under this section, acquires any knowledge or forms any suspicion that another person has been or is engaged in money laundering or terrorist financing shall report that knowledge or suspicion to the Garda Síochána and Revenue Commissioners.”

This guidance is addressed to all barristers to ensure barristers’ compliance with the Act. This guidance is not intended as a comprehensive statement of the LSRA’s role and functions under the Act. However, by way of general overview of some of the duties of the LSRA under the Act, section 63C provides, in part –

“Each competent authority shall –

adopt a risk-based approach to the exercise of its supervisory functions, …
base the frequency and intensity of on-site and off-site supervision on the risk profile of designated persons, and on the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing in the State,
review, both periodically and when there are major events or developments in their management and operations, their assessment of the money laundering and terrorist financing risk profile of designated persons, including the risks of non-compliance with the provisions of this Act, and
take into account the degree of discretion allowed to the designated person, and appropriately review the risk assessments underlying this discretion, and the adequacy and implementation of its internal policies, controls and procedures.”

Barrister should be aware of section 63D of the Act which provides, in part, that a competent authority shall make arrangements to ensure that –

“(d) a contravention of a requirement imposed by or under this Act by a designated person it is responsible for supervising renders that person liable to effective, proportionate and dissuasive disciplinary measures under its rules.”

[Emphasis added]

Where are barristers' anti-money laundering obligations found?

Barristers’ obligations can be found in the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, as amended (Act).

The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 was amended, inter alia, by the Criminal Justice Act 2013, the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2018 and by the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021 which transposed the majority of Directive (EU) 2018/843, known as the fifth Money Laundering Directive, into Irish law. This was signed by the President on the 18 March, 2021 and was commenced on the 23 and 24 April 2021 by S.I. No. 188 of 2021.

The purpose of the Act and the underpinning EU legislation is to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. It seeks to do this by:

setting out statutory obligations which must be carried out by certain categories of persons called designated persons;
establishing a regime by which is intended to secure compliance by those designated persons,
and providing for monitoring of designated persons by authorities knowns as “competent authorities”.

What are money laundering offences?

“Money laundering” in the Act means an offence under Part 2 of the Act. Barristers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with Part 2 of the Act. (Part 2 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 was commenced on 15 July 2010.)

Included in Part 2 is the offence of “money laundering occurring in the State”. This is set out in section 7 of the Act which provides, in part, –

“(1) A person commits an offence if—

(a) the person engages in any of the following acts in relation to property that is the proceeds of criminal conduct:

(i) concealing or disguising the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement or ownership of the property, or any rights relating to the property;

(ii) converting, transferring, handling, acquiring, possessing or using the property;

(iii) removing the property from, or bringing the property into, the State,

and

(b) the person knows or believes (or is reckless as to whether or not) the property is the proceeds of criminal conduct.”

“Criminal conduct” and “proceeds of criminal conduct” are defined in the Act. “Proceeds of criminal conduct” is defined as meaning –

“any property that is derived from or obtained through criminal conduct, whether directly or indirectly, or in whole or in part, and whether that criminal conduct occurs before, on or after the commencement of this Part”.

Section 7(2) of the Act provides that it is an offence to attempt to commit an offence under section 7(1). Section 7(4) of the Act provides that a “reference to knowing or believing the property is the proceeds of criminal conduct includes a reference to knowing or believing that the property probably comprises the proceeds of criminal conduct”. [Emphasis added]

Section 10 of the Act makes it a criminal offence to aid, abet, counsel or procure the commission of the offence of money laundering under section 7.

Under section 11(2) of the Act, a person may also be guilty of offence of money laundering if he or she is reckless as to whether or not the property was the proceeds of criminal conduct.

What are terrorist financing offences?

The offence of “terrorist financing” is defined in section 2(1) of the Act as meaning “an offence under section 13 of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005”. Section 13 of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 provides, in part, as follows:

“(1) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), a person is guilty of an offence if, in or outside the State, the person by any means, directly or indirectly, unlawfully and wilfully provides, collects or receives funds intending that they be used or knowing that they will be used, in whole or in part in order to carry out—

(a) an act that constitutes an offence under the law of the State and within the scope of, and as defined in, any treaty that it is listed in the annex to the Terrorist Financing Convention, or

(b) an act (other than one referred to in paragraph (a)) —

(i) that is intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian or to any other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict, and

(ii) the purpose of which is, by its nature or context, to intimidate a population or to compel a government or an international organisation to do, or abstain from doing any act.”

Section 13(2) provides that, subject to subsections (6) and (7), a person who attempts to commit an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.

Barristers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005.

Are any other offences created by the Act?

Yes, various offences, which relate generally to non-compliance with obligations as designated persons, are created by Part 4 of the Act. (For further information on barristers’ obligations under the Act, please see About Barristers’ Obligations under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, as amended

Are barristers “designated persons” under the Act?

Yes, section 24(1) (in Part 4) of the Act provides that “barrister” means a practising barrister;”

Practising barrister is not defined in the Act but there is a definition of practising barrister in the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 (Act of 2015). Section 2 of the Act of 2015 provides that a “practising barrister” means a person who –
“(a) is a qualified barrister, and
(b) provides, or hold himself or herself out as providing, legal services as a barrister –
(i) whether or not for a fee,
(ii) whether or not under a contract of service or a contract for services,
and
(iii) whether or not, in so doing, he or she describes himself or herself as a, or otherwise uses the title of, “barrister”, “barrister-at-law” or “counsel”.”
“Designated person”
The meaning of a “designated person” is set out in section 25 of the Act, the relevant part of which provides as follows:
“(1) In this Part, “designated person” means any person, acting in the State in the course of business carried on by the person in the State, who or that is-
…
(d) subject to subsection (1A), a relevant independent legal professional, …
(1A) A relevant independent legal professional shall be a designated person only as respects the carrying out of the services specified in the definition of ‘relevant independent legal professional’ in section 24(1).”

In what circumstances do the obligations in the Act apply to barristers?

Barristers who carry out any of the services listed in the definition of “relevant independent legal professional” are subject to the obligations and requirements for designated persons under the Act.

Accordingly, barristers who do not carry out those services are not subject to the obligations and requirements for designated persons under the Act.

It is incumbent on all barristers, whether self-employed or employed, to ascertain whether or not they provide services as a “relevant independent legal professional” in accordance with the list provided in section 24(1) of the Act, as if they do they are subject to the requirements of the Act as “designated persons”.

“Relevant independent legal professional”

Section 24(1) of the Act provides that “‘relevant independent legal professional’ means a barrister, solicitor or notary who carries out any of the following services:

“(a) the provision of assistance in the planning or execution of transactions for clients concerning any of the following:

buying or selling land or business entities;
managing the money, securities or other assets of clients;
opening or managing bank, savings or securities accounts;
organising contributions necessary for the creation, operation or management of companies;
creating, operating or managing trusts, companies or similar structures or arrangements;

acting for or on behalf of clients in financial transactions or transactions relating to land;”

It is important to note the broad wording i.e. “the provision of assistance in the planning or execution of transactions for clients concerning any of the following…” [Emphasis added].

In assessing the types of work which constitute providing services as a “relevant legal professional”, barristers are reminded of the provisions of the Act of 2015 and the various professional Codes which prohibit barristers from:

holding client monies;
directly or indirectly administering or handling funds or assets of any client or,
giving financial advice or assistance to a client or their solicitor on the investment of such funds or assets.

Can barristers hold client monies?

No, barristers are not permitted to hold client monies. This prohibition is contained in the:

Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 (Act of 2015);
LSRA draft Code of Practice for Practising Barristers, available on our website;
King’s Inns Code of Conduct and
The Bar of Ireland’s Code of Conduct .

Relevant extracts from these are set out below.

Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 (Act of 2015):

Section 45 of the Act of 2015 provides –

“(1) Subject to subsection (2), a legal practitioner shall not hold moneys of clients unless that legal practitioner is a solicitor.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) the Minister may by regulations prescribe a class or classes of solicitors who may not hold the moneys of clients, or who may hold such moneys subject to such conditions as may be provided for in such regulations.

(3) Subsection (1) shall not be construed as permitting a solicitor to hold the moneys of clients where a condition or restriction is placed on a solicitor’s practising certificate pursuant to the Solicitors Acts 1954 to 2015 or this Act.”

LSRA draft Code of Practice for Practising Barristers (LSRA Code):

The LSRA Code is in draft form only. Notwithstanding that the Code has not been finalised barristers are encouraged to act in accordance with the provisions of the draft LSRA Code as its purpose is to provide a statement of the accepted principles of good conduct and practice for all practising barristers.

The relevant provision of the LSRA Code is (at 3.18) –

“A Practising Barrister shall not hold moneys of clients. This applies whether the Practising Barrister is a self-employed barrister, an employed barrister, or a barrister in a Legal Partnership.”

Other relevant provisions of the LSRA Code are:

(at 1.5) “A failure to comply with any provision of the Code may constitute or give rise to the provision of legal services of an inadequate standard and/or misconduct and may be the subject of a complaint, inspection or investigation under the Act.”

(at 1.6) “This Code is not intended to be an exhaustive statement of the rules applicable to Practising Barristers. Other standards, requirements and rules that govern the conduct of Practising Barristers are found in the Act and in the general law (including the law relating to contempt of court), and in professional codes, including the Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland (which is applicable to members of the Law Library) and the Professional Code of the Honorable Society of Kings’ Inns (which is applicable to all Qualified Barristers). Furthermore, the standards of professional conduct set out herein should not be confused with the requirements of the general law of contract, of tort, of criminal law or of equity, even though the requirements of professional conduct may in some cases follow, or closely parallel, the general legal requirements.”

Council of the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, Professional Code of Conduct: For Barristers on the Register of Members of the Society (updated on the 9 April 2018)

Rule 1 provides –

“The Professional Code of The Honorable Society of King’s Inns (“the Code”) applies to all barristers.”

Rule 28 provides –

“Barristers are prohibited from directly or indirectly administering or handling the funds or assets of any client and barristers shall not give any financial advice or assistance to a client or their solicitor on the investment of such funds or assets.”

The Bar of Ireland, Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland (adopted by a General Meeting of the Bar of Ireland on 26 July 2021)

Rule 2.3. provides in part –

“It is the duty of Barristers:

(a) to comply with the provisions of the Code; …

Rule 2.16 provides –

“In the interest of maintaining an independent referral bar Barristers are prohibited from directly or indirectly administering or handling the funds or assets of any client and Barristers shall not give any financial advice or assistance to a client or their solicitor on the investment of such funds or assets.”

Can barristers give financial advice or assistance to a client or their solicitor on the investment of funds or assets?

No, this is prohibited by the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, Professional Code of Conduct and also by the Bar of Ireland’s Code of Conduct.

Council of the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, Professional Code of Conduct: For Barristers on the Register of Members of the Society (updated on the 9 April 2018)

Rule 1 provides –

“The Professional Code of The Honorable Society of King’s Inns (“the Code”) applies to all barristers.”

Rule 28 provides –

The Bar of Ireland, Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland (adopted by a General Meeting of the Bar of Ireland on 26 July 2021)

Rule 2.3. provides in part –

“It is the duty of Barristers:

(a) to comply with the provisions of the Code; …

Rule 2.16 provides –

If barristers do not hold client monies and cannot give financial advice, do obligations under the Act arise?

Yes, in summary, barristers who carry out any of the services listed in the definition of “relevant independent legal professional”, other than those which relate to holding client moneys or giving financial advice, are subject to the obligations and requirements for designated persons under the Act.

See sections on Can barristers hold client monies? and Can barristers give financial advice or assistance to a client or their solicitor on the investment of funds or assets? above for more detail.

Barristers’ AML Obligations

Other Resources

National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing, April 2019
The Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) is an intergovernmental body that sets standards and promotes implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. Please see FATF Risk Based Approach Guidance for Legal Professionals (26 June 2019)
amlcompliance.ie (Dept. of Justice).

Sanctions (Restrictive Measures) Imposed on Russia and Belarus over Ukraine

The EU has imposed a number of further sanctions on Russia and Belarus on foot of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

The LSRA has produced a guidance document as part of its role as the competent authority for all barristers in relation to anti-money laundering obligations, and as part of the LSRA’s role in receiving and investigating complaints of alleged misconduct in respect of legal practitioners.

The guidance sets out legal practitioners’ obligations in respect of the new EU sanctions on Russia and Belarus.

EU Sanctions on Russia & Belarus – Guidance for Legal Practitioners

This page was last updated on Monday, 27th May 2024