AGREEMENT HAS been reached on a new plan designed to crack down on money laundering, kleptocracy and sanctions evasion. The Economic Crime Plan 2 builds on the foundations of its predecessor with new actions to improve the system-wide response to economic crime through enhanced co-operation between Government, law enforcement, supervisory agencies and the private sector.
The response to economic crime will be bolstered by 475 new and highly trained financial crime investigators, spread across intelligence, enforcement and asset recovery at key agencies. This increased capacity will be targeted toward the detection and disruption of money laundering and the recovery of an additional £1 billion in criminal assets across the next decade.
Building on the Government’s “unprecedented package” of sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the National Crime Agency’s Combating Kleptocracy Cell will be expanded to target more corrupt elites and their enablers, while consolidating the effectiveness of UK sanctions.
As criminals seek new ways in which to launder their profits, the Government is investing £100 million in cutting-edge technology, including data analytics, to equip law enforcement with the tools they need to stay one step ahead.
A new multi-agency Crypto Cell will be established that combines law enforcement and regulators to pool expertise and more effectively identify, seize and store illicit crypto assets.
