Government reports progress on economic crime plan

The government has released an update on its progress in tackling economic crime and delivering on its ambition to ensure the UK remains a transparent, safe and open place for global business.

The Economic Crime Plan, launched in 2019 following approval by the Economic Crime Strategic Board (ECSB), set out an ambitious programme of work to tackle fraud and money laundering and set out how the UK’s public and private sectors would work together to improve our response to economic crime.

The statement of progress has now been published following a meeting of the ECSB in February, setting out how the government has worked through the coronavirus pandemic to tackle economic criminals and disrupt hostile actors.

The statement of progress shows:

• improved understanding of the threat – including through the third publication of the UK’s National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and the setting up of a “Fusion Cell” in the National Economic Crime Centre

• addressing vulnerabilities in the system – including by updating anti-money laundering requirements

• investment in law enforcement – an extra £63 million for the Home Office to drive efforts in dealing with economic crime and cracking down on fraud

According to John Glen, economic secretary to the Treasury, "collective efforts have already made it harder for criminals to abuse the UK’s global financial centre but there remains a lot to do". 

"It is crucial that we continue to work closely with public and private sector partners to understand the threat, address vulnerabilities and crack down on illicit financial activity," Mr Glen said. 

The ECSB is a government taskforce chaired by the Home Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer that works with senior figures from the UK financial, legal accountancy, insurance and property sectors to tackle economic crime, to protect the public and industry from scammers and fraudsters.