Aberystwyth firm fined £4,039 in 2025 after 14 years of anti-money laundering control failures
Powell Davies Solicitors Limited, based in Aberystwyth, was fined £4,039 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in 2025 after a regulatory investigation uncovered years of failures to maintain proper anti-money laundering (AML) controls and compliance procedures.
The sanction, published at the time following a Regulatory Settlement Agreement between the firm and the SRA, also required Powell Davies to pay £600 in investigation costs and allowed for the public disclosure of the outcome.
According to the SRA’s findings, the firm failed to establish and maintain effective AML procedures over a period spanning more than 14 years. These failings breached both the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017. The regulator noted that the non-compliance persisted despite the introduction of new legislation and repeated industry-wide reminders about the importance of robust AML systems.
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Between October 2011 and June 2017, Powell Davies failed to implement risk-sensitive policies and controls to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, as required by the 2007 Regulations. The problems continued under the 2017 regime: from June 2017 until August 2025, the firm did not maintain, review or update its AML policies, controls and procedures (PCPs) in line with legal requirements.
The SRA concluded that these long-running deficiencies left the firm exposed to potential money laundering risks and without sufficient safeguards to identify or mitigate them. The issues came to light during a desk-based review carried out by the SRA’s Proactive Supervision Team, which routinely monitors firms’ compliance with AML obligations.
In its published decision, the SRA stated that Powell Davies’ conduct showed “a disregard towards statutory and regulatory obligations” and created the potential for significant harm by failing to maintain a compliant AML control environment. The failings were described as persistent, systemic, and spanning multiple versions of the UK’s anti-money laundering framework.
While the firm eventually took remedial action — including updating its AML policies, conducting a full internal review, and delivering staff training — these steps were only implemented after SRA intervention. The regulator acknowledged, however, that Powell Davies cooperated fully with both the Proactive Supervision and Investigation teams, admitted the breaches early, and moved swiftly to bring its systems into compliance.
Importantly, the SRA found no evidence that money laundering had taken place, nor that any clients had suffered loss or that the firm had obtained a financial benefit as a result of the failings. These mitigating factors were taken into account when determining the level of sanction.
Nevertheless, the SRA stressed that the breaches were long-standing and involved recklessness, noting that the firm had failed to pay due regard to both the AML Regulations and the guidance issued by the Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG). The conduct was categorised as “more serious” under the SRA’s penalty guidance.
Applying its penalty framework, the regulator assessed the misconduct as serious (a score of three) with a medium level of potential harm (a score of four). The combined score of seven placed the case within Band C of the SRA’s penalty matrix. The initial fine of £4,488 was reduced to £4,039 to reflect the firm’s cooperation and remedial steps.
The SRA said the sanction was imposed to uphold public confidence in the legal profession and to act as a deterrent to other firms that might neglect their statutory AML responsibilities.
In its concluding statement, the SRA reminded firms that “effective systems and controls to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing are a fundamental part of maintaining public trust in the profession and the integrity of the legal services market.”
Powell Davies, operating from Market Chambers on Eastgate, Aberystwyth, confirmed that it had since reviewed all live client files and brought its AML framework into full compliance with current regulations.