Public information and registries, anti-money laundering, and compliance - STEP CPD Masterclass Series

Compliance is all around us and the government and other agencies are trying to enforce more rules and registration of what was previously private information. This session will explore whether clients even have a right to a private life and to the extent that they don’t, an update on the rules and compliance that practitioners must deal with on a regular basis including Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), Residuary Estate Trusts (TRS), Register of Overseas Entities (ROE), Anti-Money Laundering AML Regulation 30 (AML Reg 30) and more.

Samantha Morgan TEP

Co-chaired (with John Riches) the RBA Drafting Group in working on the FATF Guidance for Trust and Corporate Service Providers. She was part of the STEP team working directly with the OECD in relation to the implementation of CRS She worked on the STEP response to: - the Mandatory Disclosure Rules; - the consultation document on preventing abuse of residence by investment schemes to circumvent the CRS; - HMRC’s consultation on DAC6, MDR and trust registers and the implantation of AMLD5 Co-author of the STEP paper on Global Solutions to Money Laundering. Co-author on STEP’s comments on the FATF Recommendation 24 and 25 and guidance.

Sophie Carr

Sophie is a Senior Associate in the Private Client and Tax department at Withers LLP. She advises individuals, trustees, beneficiaries and family offices on private wealth issues often involving international tax and trust matters. Sophie also has over a decade of experience in establishing bespoke asset holding structures for high net worth individuals and their families, and the governance mechanisms related to those structures. She also works closely with trustees, protectors and beneficiaries on trust law matters, principally relating to offshore trusts. Sophie was named as a Rising Leader in the 2023 Private Client Global Elite directory.

Lauren Rapeport

Lauren is a Senior Associate in the Private Client team at Withers. She advises on a range of complex trust, tax and succession planning issues, both domestic and international. She works with families, family offices and trustees to advise on the governance of international trust structures, and regularly advises individuals and families on their estate planning. Lauren was named as a 'key lawyer' in the Legal 500 in 2022 and as an eprivateclient Top 35 Under 35 in 2019, 2021 and 2022. She holds STEP qualifications in the taxation of international individuals, cross-border estates and trustee investment duties.

Kieran Hendrick

Kieran is a Senior Associate in the Private Client and Tax department at Withers. He works with UK and international individuals, trustees, beneficiaries and family offices on a wide range of tax, trust and succession matters, including in the planning and implementation of international structuring solutions and in stress testing pre-existing asset holding structures. Kieran regularly advises trustees and family offices on compliance with domestic and international transparency and reporting initiatives, such as the Register of Overseas Entities and the Common Reporting Standard.