The UK Financial Conduct Authority has imposed restrictions on six firms registered as Annex 1 businesses that are active in lending. The firms are Kingscrown Finance, MOMSB, Momentus Capital, Grosvenor Funding, Grosvenor Funding (North West) and Abbital. Kingscrown must wind down its loan book. The regulator said it sent an information request to about 900 Annex 1 firms to review their anti-money-laundering controls.

What it means: Annex 1 firms in the UK are companies without full FCA authorisation that are registered only for anti-money-laundering supervision, such as some lenders and leasing companies. The regulator's action shows that this registration does not mean lighter oversight, and that gaps in customer identification and transaction monitoring can lead even to the end of a business. The request to about 900 firms signals a wider review of the sector. In Greece the equivalent rules apply through the anti-money-laundering law that transposes the EU directives, and the Bank of Greece supervises non-bank lenders and leasing companies. From July 2027 the EU's new single anti-money-laundering regulation will apply, with directly binding obligations, and the new EU authority AMLA will coordinate supervision. For Greek finance companies, the UK case is a useful reminder to check now whether their know-your-customer procedures, risk assessments and suspicious-transaction reporting are complete and documented, before the intensity of inspections increases.

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