Fund disbursement - what can i do?

[Nofunbuyingproperty]

I thought I could relax...after contract exchange...but the real nightmare has just begun.

My solicitor just told me she could not accept any fund from a non-UK bank account, one week before completion. It's clear from day 1 that I am a non resident and the proof of source of fund is an overseas bank statement (Singapore). Yet she never mentioned this restriction. I do have a UK bank account but online transfer is subject to a daily limit, which is not enough to pay for the remaining 90%. But if i make the transfer overseas, i cango to a local bank branch and instruct the transaction in person, therefore no cap.

The solicitor did not propose any solution. Just said no overseas fund due to money laundering regulation. Period.

I looked up online. There is indeed this money laundering thing for international fund but it's a "May" not accept and a list of countries are exempted, such as Singapore.

Do all solicitors have this restriction? Has anyone been in this situation before and found a solicitor willing to take overseas fund? What options are available?

Since I have received zero advice from my solicitor, am turning to MN.

Please help!

You could ask your vendor to postpone completion until you have the cleared funds. They might if they are not in a chain.

From Your account, your solicitor has been incompetent. We have always had to show proof of cleared funds (if cash buyers) before exchange. You need a more cosmopolitan solicitor to handle your transaction. Don’t pay the first one who has failed in her duty to you.

I think you might find these are standard regulations across the financial sector, Financial crime and money laundering are strictly monitored now. Is it a cash transaction or are you applying for a mortgage from your UK bank?

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen Will i risk losing the deposit if i propose a delay in completion? Can the seller say no? we have exchanged contract and the 10% deposit paid.

It's a cash transaction. I thought i could use phone banking at HSBC to transfer the fund. I was asked a series of security questions with the warning that the first word will be taken as the answer. I didn't pay enough attention and the first words were let me think....so i got the phone access suspended. I begged and begged, to no avail. The only way to unblock - to go to a UK bank branch in person. This is my last resort. But I wanted to see if there's any way of doing this at long distance.

We purchased in UK from USA, also a cash purchase. We had to show where the cash was coming from (pay stubs, account balances etc.) and then simply did a wire payment to the account the solicitor provided. Took 24 hours.

They did ask for a face to face call with weird questions like 'why this house?' prior to approving this.

Good luck!

I believe this is a failing on the part of your solicitor who should have checked where the money from your purchase was coming from.

We are currently waiting for checks from our buyers who are using funds from a 'third country' (ie, a high risk country). The checks are being carried out by a separate solicitor on their behalf and will take about 2 weeks.

Singapore is not a 'high risk' AML (anti-money laundering) country so checks should be faster than two weeks.

I suggest you ask your solicitor why they didn't ask about where the funds were coming from and if they did, why they didn't alert you that they would be subject to AML checks. It is their job to know this.

Get them to start the necessary checks now and if they cannot, immediately find and appoint a solicitor who can deal with AML checks with a fast turnaround time.

@FromTheDepths Do you mind sharing the contact of your solicitor? Looks like they are more amenable to overseas fund. Would like to see if they are willing to take me on as a last minute client.

Am happy to provide pay slip and tax return for the AML check. But my solicitor has not even suggested this...

It was Blackadders. Before switching firms I would ask for a meeting with your current solicitor's Compliance Team. They are the ones who determine whether funding is legitimate or not.

It is not my solicitor. It is a solicitor being used by our purchasers and I don't have/can't get details.

You need to speak to your solicitor asap and find out if they can deal with the AML checks required to be able to use the funds.

This was their responsibility and checks of proof of funds and their availability should have been the first thing they did.

If they cannot, you should find a reputable non-'online only' solicitor who can do these checks on your behalf quickly.

Phone around conveyancing firms who have proper offices and explain the situation and time-constraints. At the very least, you should get some decent advice about what your solicitor could/should be doing to remedy this situation.

Thank you for the advice. I will start calling all the numbers i can find online first thing tomorrow morning!

I work in a compliance team in a law firm. There isn’t a blanket ban on receiving funds from other countries. We’d assess each case on a case by case basis.

You should start with your own solicitors and see what they need to proceed (given that this should have been the first thing they did, before searches, etc).

Can you open an HSBC account in the uk and then move the money into that before sending on to the solicitor?

I already have an HSBC UK account...but there's a daily cap for online transfer. Need to go to a branch in person for anything above.

I have just sent an email asking if there's any AML check that they could do on their end to facilitate a transfer from an overseas account. Will call them tomorrow morning. My lawyer friend suggested that i drop words like negligence in email. But I'm at their mercy....have to keep my cool and be very polite.

OK. Clutching at straws here....
How many uk amounts would you need to transfer sufficient money?
Can you set up a Revolut account, a wise account, any other international, but sterling, accounts that will accept none residents, and transfer from those within the daily limit?
I'm not sure if I've followed: is it your UK HSBC account that is locked?

Given the costs involved in defaulting, can you get on a plane to be here Monday morning, sort the account, and be back Wednesday?

Good Luck. Id be writing a VERY strongly worded complaint once thos is sorted - requesting a refund of fees, plus and flights/hotels/bank fees.

I don't have time to set up any other account and transfer the fund little by little over a few days. Which is essentially like doing online payment via HSBC UK.

In theory, I can transfer large sum using the phone transfer function of HSBC UK. But i failed their security question and therefore had this function suspended. Was told to go to a bank branch in person. Strangely when i called the hotline again yesterday, was told that i could do this over the phone but since it's a large sum, even if i passed the security question, it would take over a week for them to clear the fund at the back end. They could not confirm the time and i do not want to risk having the money stuck in transit. Therefore, making a telegraphic transfer from an overseas HSBC account is my best bet - as I can just go to my local branch to instruct the transaction in person.

Have asked the EA to find out from the seller's solicitor if i could directly transfer the fund to their account from offshore.

Making a day trip to London is my last resort!

I do hope you get this sorted out today. So stressful!

Your solicitor should have established weeks ago where the funds were coming from and warned you to move the money into the UK in plenty of time. International property purchases were, prior to these regulations, a quick and easy way to launder money that is the proceeds of crime.

Get yourself to a bank branch asap and do whatever you need to to move the money into the uk, but the same money laundering regulations may add delays. You may be able to pay additional fees for an expedited process to check that you aren't a front for a drug cabal.

@Nofunbuyingproperty is it also a requirement that the funds go to your solicitors account from an account in your name? That has been our experience but just wanted to double check just in case as it might open up other options if it isn't a requirement.

Do you bank with HSBC in Singapore? If so you can get your HSBC UK security reset at a branch in Singapore- you'll need a few hours in a branch and endless patience but it can be done on the day. Are your transfer settings in the UK set to the maximum (I can't remember if you can up them or not - you can on HSBC SG)?