Recommendation 4

HM Government Not Addressed

Fraud and economic crime are complex and multifaceted issues that touch upon much of the economy and manifest in many different ways. A single departmental approach would, in the government’s view, undermine our efforts to tackle holistically the challenge that economic crime presents. That is why the government established the NECC and published the Economic Crime Plan. It is intended to facilitate progress through coordinated partnership-working between the public and private sectors. One such partnership, the NECC’s Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT+) is a world-leading model of best practice. The JMLIT+ model, which has been expanded and strengthened over the last 18 months, enables tactical and strategic intelligence sharing between the public and private sectors, enabling them to tackle serious and organised crime more effectively, support high priority operations, and manage financial risk across the system. As mentioned above, the Economic Crime Plan is monitored at the most senior levels of government. It provides a collective articulation of actions the UK is taking to tackle economic crime. The private and public sectors are making measurable progress in delivering the Economic Crime Plan and are on course to deliver 49 of the 52 actions set out in the Plan. At the most recent Economic Crime Strategic Board this progress was summarised and welcomed across the private and public sector. This action-driven approach to the Economic Crime Plan has resulted in substantial improvements in the UK’s overall response to economic crime. The Plan prioritised risk areas by addressing gaps identified by the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Mutual Evaluation Report assessment.4 The FATF is the international standard-setter for measures to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing. For example, the Economic Crime Plan committed the UK to update its Money Laundering Regulations. This has closed vulnerabilities in our system and brought new sectors within scope of the requirements.5 The Economic Crime Plan has also led to the publication of a White Paper setting out the government’s plans for Companies House reform.6 These proposals have been widely supported and the package of reforms—thanks to this coordinated approach—will be put forward as legislation in the Third Session. They will ensure Companies House plays a larger role in combatting economic crime. Delivery of the actions from the first Economic Crime Plan has played an important role in the UK’s fight against economic crime. However, the threat posed by economic crime is constantly evolving. Therefore, at the most recent Economic Crime Strategic Board the Home Office and HM Treasury proposed a second iteration of the Plan. We share the Treasury Select Committee’s view that the government’s approach should be informed by the analysis of measurable outcomes. This shift in focus will help to ensure that the private and public sectors’ energies are well- targeted towards addressing fraud, as well as high-end and cash-based money laundering. During the development of the Economic Crime Plan 2.0 the government will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the first iteration of the Economic Crime Plan. This assessment will help ensure the next iteration of the Plan is effective as possible.