Reference Case Number: FOI11290
Freedom of Information: Right to know request:
There was a previous request under the FOI (Reference Case Number: FOI8883) which came under a Right to know request for the following "I would like to know the number of firms the FCA wrote to in 2021 because of the turnover of its MLRO [Money Laundering Reporting Officer] asking for a board-level assessment of the underlying causes".
FCA response:
"We can confirm that in 2021, the FCA wrote to 635 firms because of the turnover of its MLRO".
My request: What was the total turnover of MLROs across the 635 firms who the FCA wrote to and what the main cause of turnover.’
FCA response:
We can confirm that we hold the requested information, and our response is set out below.
We would first like to explain that while the figure of 635 firms being contacted was provided in our response to FOI8883, we have discovered there were another 8 firms contacted as part of the project which spanned financial year 2021/22 and so the information provided below covers all 643 firms written to.
The MLRO turnover at the 643 firms written to was 1989 according to our records. Please be aware that this figure is based on our authorisations data which simply tracks the number of MLRO’s registered on our system. Some of those registered may not have taken up the position but would still be counted, others may have left shortly after registration for maternity leave or other personal reasons.
Where reasons for the high turnover are available, a broad range were provided such as people finding other opportunities, people leaving for personal reasons such as moving abroad, interim MLROs or contractors taking positions before a permanent staff member was found and the FCA rejecting the MLRO application, amongst others.