UK Government Outlines Anti-Money Laundering Strategy

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

08 November 2004

In its Anti-Money Laundering Strategy report, published late last month, the UK government congratulated the business and financial services sectors on their progress in clamping down on money laundering and terrorist financing activities, but explained that much still remains to be done.

Stressing the importance of an effective control system, of the focusing of effort according to risk and the imposition of controls in a cost-effective way, and of continuing to engage with those affected by changes to the UK's anti-money laundering rules, the government report provided an overview of plans for the short and medium-term designed to strike "the right balance between effective crime prevention and detection and avoiding an excessive burden on industry".

With regard to ongoing initiatives, the report announced that:

"Negotiations for a Third EC Directive on Money Laundering aim to implement the FATF’s latest standards on combating money laundering. The FSA is working with the financial services industry and other stakeholders to achieve an effective but proportionate approach to “know your customer” (KYC) requirements. NCIS is continuing to look at ways to improve the efficiency of the suspicious activity reporting regime particularly through the provision of feedback to the reporting institutions."

The report concluded by revealing that the government will review progress in implementing its anti-money laundering strategy by December 2005.

The full text of the UK government's Anti-Money Laundering Strategy Report can be found in the Tax News Resources section.

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