Important update for money-laundering reporting officers: new SAR portal

The current system will be decommissioned later this year

Suspicious activity reports (SARs) alert law enforcement to potential instances of money laundering or terrorist financing. SARs are made by financial institutions and other professionals such as accountants, solicitors and estate agents and are a vital source of intelligence not only on economic crime but on a wide range of criminal activity.

They provide information and intelligence from the private sector that would otherwise not be visible to law enforcement.

To improve the reporting process and make it easier for reporters in the UK, the UK Financial Intelligence Unit has developed a new SAR portal that went live on 18 September 2023. The current SARs online system will be decommissioned later this year.

Any reporting organisation yet to register for the new portal should do so from this point.

Access the new portal now.

To prepare you on how to register for and use the new SAR portal, the UK FIU has provided additional supporting materials and user guides below.

New SAR portal guidance

For the new SAR portal, two user guides, two video guides and a FAQs document have been developed. The guidance materials have been created to help you get ready to use and familiarise yourself with the new SAR portal.

Guides:

  • Overview (Guide A) 
    Overview of the new SAR Portal for individuals and organisations that use the Portal to submit SARs
  • How to register (Guide B) 
    Guidance on how to register to the new SAR portal to submit SARs. All organisations and individuals will need to register
  • Role of first registrant (download document)
    Guidance for the first registrant of a reporting organisation to enable both initial registration, and the registration of colleagues prior to using the new SAR Portal

Videos:

FAQs: