"This latest round of fines and ongoing pattern of non-compliance clearly shows the urgent need to improve standards in the sector."
HMRC named the 68 estate agents that have been fined a total of £519,645 for not complying with rules designed to stop criminals laundering money from illegal activity.
The fines followed the first prosecution of an estate agent for trading despite not registering with HMRC, to ensure compliance with money laundering regulations.
Felix Uwuigbe, director of Century House Estates in London, was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid community service and banned from acting as an estate agent for two years after he was convicted of trading for three months while unregistered.
The full list of businesses not complying with money laundering regulations sees 175 businesses receiving penalties totalling £2,180,708.
The list was previously published in May 2022, which saw 147 businesses, including 41 estate agents, receive penalties totalling almost £800,000.
HMRC says it is currently investigating a number of other cases of businesses failing to register whilst trading, which could lead to prison sentences of up two years and an unlimited fine.
Nick Sharp, HMRC’s deputy director of economic crime, said: "We are determined to create a level playing field for businesses who play by the rules. That means taking action against the minority of businesses who fail to fulfil their legal responsibilities under the money laundering regulations.
"Money laundering is not a victimless crime. Our regulations are there to protect businesses from those criminals who would prey on their services to wash their dirty money.
"Serious and organised crime costs the UK billions of pounds every year and our anti-money laundering supervision is a vital tool in combatting that."
Martin Cheek, managing director of SmartSearch, commented: “Once again, estate agents unfortunately find themselves in the spotlight for compliancy failures with 68 firms fined more than half-a-million pounds. This latest round of fines and ongoing pattern of non-compliance clearly shows the urgent need to improve standards in the sector.
“It’s also a wake-up call to all regulated businesses with a total of 175 firms receiving fines totalling a hefty £2.1 million.
“As HMRC continues to take action against those who ignore their legal responsibilities, it almost becomes a question of when not if for those who lack fundamental AML processes. Without doubt, the case for digital onboarding, electronic verification and enhanced due diligence has never been so vital.
“Especially in the current climate where sanctions are growing and more than £90 billion is being laundered through the UK, the property sector finds itself on the front line in the war against money-laundering. The sector has long been a target for criminals and exposed persons to filter dirty money and an urgent response is needed.
“Rising to the challenge will undoubtedly a take a culture change to not only be aware of the potential threats, but to take advantage of the latest innovations and technology available to make AML and sanction procedures efficient and far more robust.”
