The Treasury Committee has warned that the UK must get a grip on money laundering and that is could even increase post-Brexit. The Committee concluded that efforts to fight money laundering in the UK is “highly fragmented.” at the moment.
They urged the government not to ignore the seriousness of economic crime in a rush to secure new trade deal in the post-Brexit political environment. Committee chair Nicky Morgan said government should not “bow to buccaneering regulatory pressures”
The Treasury Committee is concerned that increasing economic partnerships with non-EU countries means it is more likely that they will enter markets that may have a lax approach to money laundering.
It said: “When conducting trade negotiations, the government must be clear about its intention to lead the fight against economic crime, and not compromise by shifting to a more buccaneering role in an effort to secure trade deals.”
“The government must also ensure that the flow of information between the EU and UK’s enforcement agencies is retained or replicated post-Brexit.”
The committee said the scale of economic crime in the UK was “very uncertain, with estimates ranging from the tens of billions of pounds to the hundreds of billions”.
“The government should provide a more precise estimate, so that the response can be tailored to the problem.”
The National Crime Agency estimates that £100bn of dirty money is laundered through the City of London every year.
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