Clause 95 - Money laundering: threshold amounts
Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill
4:45 pm
Mr Andrew Mitchell (Shadow Minister, Economic Affairs; Sutton Coldfield, Conservative)
I, too, wish to say a few words on the three amendments, particularly about the figures. Two important points need to be made.
I was able to raise the first on Second Reading of some money laundering legislation some years ago. I pointed out that it was right to impose such low limits if it met a particular difficulty that could at least be defined in some credible way. Clearly, however, those low limits are a burden not only to the financial community and for those engaged in retail financial services; they are also a considerable burden to those opening accounts, who have to produce the necessary documentation and so forth. Parliament should impose such burdens only if it is really necessary.
That brings me to my second point. I asked Ministers on that Second Reading whether they could give the House some idea of their perception of how bad money laundering was in Britain. I wanted to know whether it was an enormous problem or a minor one. I wanted to know whether the Government could quantify the scale of money laundering to which they believed Britain was being subjected. Was London the money laundering capital of the world? What satisfaction could Ministers give Parliament that we were justified in imposing those substantial burdens, given the effects that I have described? Was the problem extremely severe? I did not receive an answer on that occasion, nor on any other occasion since.
In supporting the amendments, I want to probe the Minister a little further. I hope that she will be able to demonstrate to the frustrated public who have to meet those low thresholds when opening accounts, and to the financial community, that they really are necessary.