Treasury written question – answered at on 28 January 2022.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of foreign-owned financial services companies involved in money laundering operating in the UK.
HM Treasury does not hold an assessment of the number of foreign-owned financial services companies involved in money laundering in the UK and is not responsible for collecting such data.
However, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does collect information on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) investigations opened into firms and individuals where entities may have breached their obligations under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) or the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs).
The FCA currently has 41 AML investigations opened into firms and individuals, the number of foreign owned firms under investigation is eight. These investigations are regulatory, civil and criminal in nature covering a wide range of potential breaches of systems and controls covered under the MLRs and the requirements under FSMA. It is important to keep in mind, that when the FCA opens an investigation, it is fact finding in nature and does not in itself mean any misconduct has occurred.
Where the FCA has evidence of ongoing breaches of AML regulations, it will take intervention action to prevent and/or contain ongoing harm. As a result of the FCA’s investigations, since 2018 the total of financial penalties issued is £970,067,419 (before settlement discounts). The FCA also secured its first criminal conviction against a body corporate for breaches of the MLRs in October 2021.
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