\u201cTo build the strongest possible picture of system-wide effectiveness,\u201d the government call for evidence said<\/a>, \u201cwe are looking for real-life examples with clear, demonstrable results that illustrate how the UK\u2019s anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and sanctions frameworks operate effectively in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n The government is rushing to collect those examples before it submits its own evidence packet to the taskforce in October. The watchdog\u2019s assessment team will then visit the UK for an on-the-ground review next summer.<\/p>\n But the UK faces an uphill battle to prove the City has made substantial changes, and are staying alert to new threats including a surge in AI-fuelled investment fraud<\/a> and the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, which can help shield the source of transactions.<\/p>\n Last year, the National Crime Agency estimated that \u00a3100bn is being laundered through or within the UK every single year, with City firms providing legal and financial services for fraudsters, human traffickers, the illegal drug trade and other types of organised crime. The UK\u2019s national risk assessment on money laundering and terrorist financing has also classed the UK legal sector as \u201chigh risk\u201d<\/a> for every one of its assessments since 2017.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the UK approaches its next FATF mutual evaluation in 2027, the pressure on its anti-money laundering (AML) regime is intensifying,\u201d the rating agency Moody\u2019s said in a report published earlier this year. \u201cBillions are spent each year in the UK on supervision with hundreds of firms refused entry to the financial system following due diligence, yet an estimated \u00a3100bn is still laundered annually.\u201d<\/p>\n Moody\u2019s added: \u201cWhen FATF examiners arrive in the UK, they may ask how much of that risk is really being reduced by the UK\u2019s controls, intelligence and enforcement, and how quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n The first phase of the next FATF review will allow the UK government to submit its own evidence, outlining how effectively the country handles and prevents money laundering and other financial crime.<\/p>\n The Treasury is asking City firms to share any cases, from 2022 onward, showing how they dumped, or refused to take on, potentially high-risk clients. That is on top of cases where a company\u2019s intervention later led to a state investigation or prosecution.<\/p>\n
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