The UK Government has put technology front and centre in reinforcing its financial crime-fighting strategy and its efforts to recover lost funds.
Plans for Economic Crime Plan Two have come to light this week with the UK Government confirming new efforts to fight financial crime.
These efforts include deploying 475 new financial crime investigators who share the aim of seizing £1billion in criminal assets over the next decade. The announcement places ‘detection and disruption of money laundering’ central to this goal.
The Plan promotes the reinvestment of illicit funds back into combatting these crimes and supporting victims. In addition to this, the UK Government is to invest £400million over the next three years into tackling the problem, including £200million from the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy raised from the private sector, and a £200million investment from HMG.
Innovative solutions and strategies
The Plan has demonstrated the UK Government’s ability to recognise the solution of technology in stamping out illicit acvitivties. With a growing necessity to stay ahead of laundering trends and identify changing activity patterns, the technology and data analytical tools adopted by UK law enforcement will be backed by an additional £100million investment.
“Technology is a central aspect of detecting and preventing financial crime, bringing robust and efficient compliance processes through means such as dynamic know your customer (KYC) process automation,” says Dr Henry Balani, global head of industry and regulatory affairs for Encompass Corporation.
Balani explains that by utilising available solutions, financial institutions can “significantly boost the effectiveness of compliance, helping to streamline processes, remove bottlenecks and ultimately detect financial crime faster.”
He describes the Plan’s harnessing of technology as both “encouraging and important” while hoping to see “continual emphasis on and investment towards to support the financial services industry.”
Home secretary Suella Braverman added: “Economic crime undermines the integrity of our financial system and weakens our national security. Through robust legislation and a strengthened law enforcement response, we’ve come a long way in cracking down on dirty money, but this plan helps us go further. Backed by our partnership with the private sector, we have the resources and expertise we need to identify criminal networks and confiscate the proceeds of their illicit activities.”
