UK accountants are set to win more clients as legal privileges previously only extended to lawyers will apply to them as well under new mone...

UK accountants are set to win more clients as legal privileges previously only extended to lawyers will apply to them as well under new money laundering under regulations. The new laws give accountants the same legal privilege as lawyers when they encounter suspicious transactions. Private clients would have chosen to use lawyers’ services over accountants because of the privilege issue in the past, according to senior accountants commenting on the legal changes. The UK government amended the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2003 to extend the privilege and bring UK law in line with European law, after accountants fought for equal rights for more than 18 months, overcoming opposition from the legal profession. “I had seen cases where potential clients had gone to lawyers instead of accountants - now a factor in a client’s choice of advisor has been taken away," said John Cassidy tax investigations partner at UK national accountants PKF.