Compliance

Our Compliance with Money Laundering Regulations & The London Local Authorities Act 2007

We take pride in complying with UK Money Laundering Regulations, which involves obtaining specific information about our clients and their businesses. In addition, we are also required to abide by section 75 of the London Local Authorities Act 2007. This legislation mandates that all mail forwarding businesses register with the local authority and maintain records of all clients who use their services.

Our standardised process ensures that every client receives the same level of analysis, therefore demonstrating our dedication to maintaining the integrity of your Virtual Office address and our commitment to legal and ethical business practices.

In addition to complying with the Money Laundering Regulations, we are also required to abide by section 75 of the London Local Authorities Act 2007. This legislation mandates that all mail forwarding businesses register with the local authority and maintain records of all clients who use their services.

As part of these Compliances, in addition to completing our application form, we will ask you to provide us with proof of your residential address and a valid form of photographic identification such as or Driving Licence or Passport. We do however understand the importance of a prompt and hassle-free service setup and aim to activate new accounts within 24 hours of receiving the completed application form and required documentation. However, this information is crucial in preventing any unlawful activities as well as complying with Money Laundering Regulations.

You must provide one of the following for your proof of Identity:

  • Valid International Passport (not expired)
  • Driving Licence (with photocard)
  • National Identity card

You must provide one of the following for your proof of Residential Address:

  • Utility Bill (Gas, Electric or Water)
  • Telephone bill (Mobile phone bills are not accepted)
  • Insurance Letter (Motor, Home or Life)
  • Mortgage Statement
  • Council Tax Bill
  • Bank/ Building Society Statement (includes Credit Card Statement)
  • TV Licence
  • HM Revenue and Customs Letter
  • Letter from Benefits Agency
  • Financial Statement (e.g Pension/ Endowment)
  • Polling card

The Proof of Residential Address document must:

  • Be dated within the last 3 months
  • Show the account holder/company officer’s name and address
  • Be written in English or accompanied by an English translation (by an Official Sworn Translator)
  • Be a document that has been sent via post and not an online statement/ document

Document verification
If we encounter difficulties verifying the information you provide, there is no need to worry as there may be various reasons for this, it may be that you live with your parents, sharing a house, or are moving to a new address and we may need to contact you for a quick chat to resolve the issues. If we are unable to verify the address you provided, we may need to carry out additional verification procedures.

Keeping your information safe
Safeguarding your personal and business information is of utmost importance to us, we have a fully trained Compliance Team to ensure that your data is kept safe and secure. Only our Compliance Team will have access to your stored information, and we will only share your information with Government Agencies if required by law to do so.

To ensure we comply with AML regulations, we can only accept proof of residential address documents, this must be the address that you live at.

If you are not a resident of either the UK or EU, it is important to note that your proof of ID and proof of residential address documents must be notarised by a public notary. A notary is an authorised individual who can perform specific legal formalities, including drawing up certified contracts, deeds, and other documents. The notarisation process is crucial to guarantee the authenticity and accuracy of the documents that you submit to us.

If you bring the original documents to our office at 180 Piccadilly for processing they do not need to be certified, we will always recommend you make an appointment to visit us to see how we will be representing your business. It is also helpful to put a name to a face and build a direct business relationship in order to deliver the very best service to you.  If documents cannot be brought directly to us, they can be sent by post, emailed directly to the Compliance Documents or uploaded on our website.

If you are sending documents to us by post or electronically, they will need to be certified.

Certifying a document means the document is being confirmed as a true copy of the original, this can be done by a professional person and must be signed and dated by them.

These professionals or authorities are commonly accepted as eligible to certify documents:

  • Bank or Building Society
  • Police Officer
  • Official Councillor
  • Dentist
  • Chartered Accountant
  • Solicitor/ Lawyer or Notary
  • Dentist
  • Doctor
  • Chartered Accountant
  • Teacher or Lecturer
  • Minister of Religion
  • Local Town Hall

Anyone related to you or people living at your same address or people in a relationship with you cannot certify your documentation.

You will need to take the original document and a photocopied version and ask the professional person or authority to certify the copy by:

  • Writing: “Certified to be a true copy of the original seen by me” on the document 
  • Signing and dating the document
  • Printing their name under the signature
  • Adding their occupation, address and telephone number 
  • Stamp the document with their personal or professional stamp

No, although your passport or driving licence can be used as proof of identity they cannot be used as proof of residential address separate documents such as a bank statement or utility bill is required to verify your proof of address.

We are legally obligated to conduct ongoing compliance checks to ensure that all identity information is correct and up-to-date, therefore, you will be required to provide new documents, for example, when your passport has expired, when your registered residential address has changed or if any of the documentation on file is older than three years old and of course as part of our annual audit. 

To comply with Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, we are only able to accept proof of residential address.

As part of our procedures, we perform regular compliance checks to ensure that all of the information we have on file is accurate and current, this includes a Risk Assessment and review of your service and the business information we hold, therefore you may be required to provide up to date documents for example if your passport has expired, however, please keep us informed of any changes particularly if any of the following circumstances have occurred:

A change to your residential address

A change to your mail forwarding address

Appointment of a new Director or Shareholders

Depending on the information you provide we may request additional documentation.

If any of the above applies to you, or if we have been in touch requesting updated documentation, you can upload this to Compliance Documents

Our compliance with UK Money Laundering Regulations is a matter of great importance for us, we use both verification software and manual processes for our Due Diligence processes, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are sharing your address with only reputable businesses is invaluable. Anyone found to be using our address without our permission is reported to the correct authorities and can be found listed here. https://voffice.com/squatters/

If you have any questions or concerns about our application process or Compliance with Money Laundering Regulations, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Illegal Use of Our Address and Services

Squatting is a term used to describe companies or individuals who use and or display our address on any correspondence materials and have not been given any consent to do so, in some circumstances their activity is illegal.  As a leading Virtual Office address provider, we are determined to prevent fraudsters and squatters who use our services for illegal purposes or without our consent, please find below companies currently using our address without our permission.

Latest identified squatters who DO NOT have permission to use our address:

CRYPTO FUND

CRYPTONICA INVEST LTD

SPDTECHNOLOGY LTD