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Purplebricks has been fined more than £260,000 for breaching laws on money laundering.
HMRC said the online estate agency was guilty of “failures in having the correct policies, controls and procedures, conducting due diligence and timing of verification”.
Purplebricks is unable to appeal the fine.
In its 2020 annual report, the agency confirmed it had received a fine from HMRC, but did not yet disclose the value of the fine.
A statement from the report reads: “Regrettably, the group incurred a fine from HMRC for historical breaches of certain aspects of the UK’s anti-money laundering legislation. We have since improved our anti-money laundering controls.”
It comes as the UK tax authority published a list of businesses for the tax year 2019 to 2020 that failed to comply with 2017 money laundering regulations.
Other businesses that have been fined for non-compliance include Company Advice Ltd, which was fined £9,000, and Laxmi Jewellers UK Ltd, which was fined £23,142.
An HMRC spokesperson said: “Money laundering funds serious and organised crime and costs the UK economy billions of pounds every year. The money laundering regulations are a vital line of defence against that.
“We’re here to support businesses in protecting themselves from criminals who would prey on their services. That also means taking action against the minority who fail to meet their legal obligations under the regulations and in doing so invite abuse.”
