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HomeLog inUK funds OEICs Unit trustsabrdn Fund Managers Ltd anti-money laundering guidance

Guidance on anti-money laundering and verifying your identity

In this guide you'll find information to help you understand why we request documents from you to verify your identity.

You can also view a PDF of this guide if you prefer.

Frequently asked questions

When criminals make money from their activities they need to make the proceeds appear as if they were legitimately earned and can do this, in part, by placing the money with financial institutions, such as banks, investment companies and insurance companies. The funds, when withdrawn, may then appear to the authorities and other institutions as legitimate income generated through investment activity.

Under current regulations for the prevention of money laundering and financial crime, abrdn has a responsibility to verify the identity of all our applicants and any associated third parties (such as an Attorney or Executor). We ensure our responsibilities are met by asking you for certified copies or original versions of official documents that confirm your identity. This is known as “Customer Due Diligence”.

This makes it more difficult for criminals to use our services as we have verified information that can be provided to the authorities to assist in their investigations and is a key control to prevent potential identity theft and fraud committed against our clients

We may contact you to request additional documentation to prove your identity to satisfy the legal requirements: 

  • if you are a new customer and we have been unable to verify your details electronically
  • if you are a new customer and we haven’t received enough evidence of your identity or,
  • if you are an existing customer the laws surrounding Anti-Money Laundering may have changed. We need to request additional evidence of your identity to keep our records up to date and to prevent you encountering difficulties in the future
You'll need to provide two different types of documentation. You can find out about these in the identity documentation guidelines further down this page and see examples of the specific types of documents you can use.
If we do not receive the relevant documents requested from you, we reserve the right, as stated in our Terms and Conditions, to withhold the proceeds of any redemptions of your investment until such time that we are in receipt of the documents requested. It is therefore important to note that if you decided to sell your holding(s), these Anti-Money Laundering regulations may prevent us from releasing the proceeds to you without first having obtained appropriate identity verification documents.

As a financial institution, as well as being required to verify the identity of our customers, we also need to understand if there are any third parties funding your investment. In addition to this, we are required to identify the source of the funds, source of wealth and the expected investment activity of our investors to ensure that we know our customers in order to assist in the prevention of money laundering and financial crime. We may therefore require additional information regarding your personal wealth.

If we are asked to pay money to any third parties associated to an account, for example the executor of an estate, we will also require identity verification documents from them.

In this instance, we will be able to accept proof of identity in the form of either a HMRC tax coding notification letter, or benefits notification letter from the Pensions Service. Proof of residency will be accepted in the form of an original letter from your care home confirming your current address.

Please contact Customer Services on 0345 113 6966 or +44 (0) 1268 445 488 from outside the UK. Please note that call charges may vary.

Identity documentation guidelines

Certification of documents

Photocopies certified by authorised signatories (solicitor or lawyer - registered in the UK, bank or building society official, financial advisor, mortgage broker, stock broker, actuary, post office official or accountant) are acceptable. The certifier must be easy to contact and not a family member.

Whilst we can accept original documents, we do not advise this as we are unable to accept liability for any loss or damage upon return.

Please ask the certifier to date and sign each page of the document stating ‘original seen’, print their name, role or position within the company and provide a contact telephone number and address. The certification must be dated within the last 6-month period.

Please supply one document from both section one and two (more information below). The same document cannot be used to cover both sections, and they must each come from a different source. If the document is not in English, a translation into English should be provided.

All documents will be returned as soon as possible.

Section one: evidence of personal identity

  • Current signed passport (If a certified copy, only the photo page is required).
  • Current signed UK / EEA photo-card driving licence (Full or Provisional), or blue disabled driver’s pass.
  • Current full UK driving licence (old version). Provisional licences are not accepted.
  • Recent evidence of entitlement to a state or local authority funded benefit, including housing benefit and council tax benefit or state pension (dated within the last year).
  • HMRC tax notification (dated within the last year). Please note that P45 and P60 documents are not acceptable
  • Shotgun licence or Firearms certificate.
  • Residence permit issued by the Home Office to EU nationals.
  • EEA member state identity card.
  • Northern Ireland voter’s card.
  • Self-employed registration cards for individuals and partnerships in the construction industry: CIS3 (partner); CIS4(P); CIS4(T); CIS5; CIS6.

Section two: evidence of address

  • Local authority tax bill (valid for current year).
  • Current signed UK / EEA photo-card driving licence (Full or Provisional), or blue disabled driver’s pass.
  • Current full UK driving licence (old version). Provisional licences are not acceptable.
  • Solicitor’s letter confirming house purchase or land registry confirmation.
  • Local council rent card or tenancy agreement.
  • Recent evidence of entitlement to a state or local authority funded benefit, including housing benefit and council tax benefit or state pension (dated within the last year).
  • Original utility bill no older than 3 months (not including mobile phone bill) or a certificate from a supplier of utilities confirming the arrangement to pay for the services on pre-payment terms.
  • HMRC correspondence addressed to the applicant at the stated address, dated within the last year.
  • EEA member state identity card.
  • Northern Ireland voter’s card.
  • Recent system-generated or signed documentation (not printed from the internet) from a regulated financial sector firm indicating that an account / investment / insurance relationship exists and which includes the account holder’s address.

If you need more information

We are here to help and if you require further assistance or information, please contact us.