UK Government Aims to Recover £1 Billion Lost Funds Over the Next Decade

The UK Government has put technology as the front and centre force to fight crimes and reinforce its financial crime strategy to recover lost funds.

The UK Government confirmed this week the new strategies for Economic Crime Plan 2 to fight financial crime. These efforts will cover the deployment of 475 new financial crime investigators who share the aim of seizing £1 billion in criminal assets over the next decade. The announcement focuses on the money laundering issue as the central goal of the plan. 

The plan promotes reinvesting illicit funds to counter these crimes and support victims. Moreover, the UK Government will invest £400 million over the next three years to tackle the problem including £200 million from the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy raised from the private sector and the other £200 million from the HMG.

The plan demonstrates the government’s ability to recognise and stamp out illicit activities using tech solutions. With a growing necessity to stay ahead of laundering trends and identify the changing activity patterns, the technology and data analytical tools adopted by UK law enforcement will be supported with an additional £100 million investment. According to Dr Henry Balani, global head of industry and regulatory affairs for Encompass Corporation, “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.”

Balani added that with the use of available tech solutions, financial firms 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.”

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