comy.
The information is normally collected by the investigating officers from the branch office. Reasonable time is given to comply with the Order.
6. Prior to the implementation of the DTOA, other legal provisions for access to bank accounts were available in criminal
investigations.
In most drugs' investigations these have been
superseded by DTOA.
7. Nearly all UK banks already have substantial legal and inspectorate branches involved in advisory, control, legal and fraud-prevention work. The DTOA has caused a small increase in this work, which has varied according to the size of the bank, and the nature of its operations. There are, however, likely to have been corresponding reductions in the work of branch offices, which were previously the subject of direct approaches by police and Customs. It is also possible that the additional precautions taken by the banks in screening suspect accounts may have provided them with an extra safeguard against frauds in which they could otherwise have
been a loser, or have become involved in a fraud investigation.
8. UK banks generally have welcomed the disclosure provisions as a valuable safety valve, which allows them to override banking confidentiality where there are significant suspicions that they are unwittingly involved in handling the proceeds of drugs trafficking. Banking, like drug trafficking, operates on an international scale. Public exposure of any branch of a bank in handling the proceeds of drug trafficking may have severely adverse financial implications in all countries where that bank or any associates and subsidiaries are
operating.
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