Almost a third of property professionals do not believe their anti-money laundering compliance would stand up to UK customs’ scrutiny, according to a survey from Credas Technologies.

The AML platform’s report found that 45% of property professionals carry out their own AML checks, with 13% adding that any failures in their checks do not matter because they believe they would not ever “come under fire” from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

It found that professionals faced with a lack of resources and the pandemic property market boom placed a low emphasis on AML issues.

Just 37% believed AML was the most important issue they faced when compared with other factors such as performance targets and additional income opportunities.

The survey found that 23% of professionals said that hitting personal performance targets was of greater importance than AML, 14% prioritised securing additional earning opportunities such as commission on a sale, while 26% placed both factors above AML compliance in terms of importance.

However, just 11% of professionals would intentionally turn a blind eye to AML compliance to hit performance targets or secure additional income opportunities, while 9% said that they may do it unintentionally.

It found that 11% of professionals said that the cost of living crisis may cause them to turn a blind eye to AML compliance to improve their financial situation.

Three-quarters of those surveyed have had some form of money laundering training, although just 16% had been trained by a professional AML company.

However, the industry wants to see more done to prevent money laundering, with 87% of professionals believing AML checks should be a legal requirement for homebuyers and sellers before they are allowed to submit an offer or instruct an agent.

The report added that 90% of those surveyed would also like to see HMRC be more proactive in helping the industry rather than simply issuing fines for non-compliance.

Credas Technologies chief executive Tim Barnett said: “There’s no doubt that the property industry is still finding its feet when it comes to complete AML compliance and it’s telling that nearly a third of professionals within the sector don’t believe their AML compliance procedures would stand up to scrutiny from HMRC.

“However, it’s fair to say that this is down to a lack of resources rather than an anti-AML attitude, with many struggling under the workplace pressures caused by the pandemic property market boom.

“The in-house execution of AML checks is no doubt adding to this workload and when coupled with the sporadic level of training with regard to spotting money laundering warning signs, it’s hardly surprising the industry is crying out for help.

“The good news is that the majority of property professionals realise the important role they play in preventing money laundering via the sector and they would like to see more done to help them win this fight.”