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<p>In its recent assessment of the UK's anti-money laundering and counter terrorist
financing (AML/CTF) regime, the Financial Action Task Force gave the UK the strongest
results of 60 countries it has assessed to date. Out of the 11 areas assessed, the
UK received the highest possible rating in 4 and the second highest rating in a further
4.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The strong assessment of the UK’s system reflects
the UK’s commitment to tackling illicit finance – as reflected through recent reforms
such as the establishment of the National Economic Crime Centre, the establishment
of the Office for Professional Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) within the
Financial Conduct Authority, the new measures introduced in the Criminal Finances
Act 2017, and the implementation of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.</p><p>
</p><p>In January, the Chancellor and Home Secretary launched the Economic Crime Strategic
Board which will work with senior figures from the public and private sectors to tackle
economic crime. The Board, which will meet twice a year, will set priorities, direct
resources and scrutinise performance against the economic crime threat. It is through
the work of this Board, and the ongoing Treasury and Home Office-led economic crime
reform programme, that the Financial Action Task Force’s recommendations will be addressed.</p><p>
</p><p>On 13 February, I co-chaired an AML/CFT Supervision roundtable with the Minister
of State for Security & Economic Crime, with attendance from across the professional
body supervision regime. This provided an important opportunity to emphasise the commitment
of government to tackling illicit finance in the accountancy and legal sectors, to
reaffirm my support for OPBAS in raising supervision standards and to make clear to
attendees their responsibility to address the recommendations made by FATF during
their review of the UK’s AML/CFT regime.</p><p> </p><p>There is work already in train
to address some of the recommendations. For example, the government is already committed
to:</p><ul><li><p>Reforming the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regime, to further
improve the use of financial intelligence in the UK</p></li><li><p>Regulating virtual
currencies for AML/CTF purposes by the end of 2019, to tackle emerging risks in the
sector</p></li><li><p>Taking appropriate action on mitigating the threats posed by
limited partnerships, on which the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy published proposals in December 2018</p></li><li><p>A broader package of
reforms to Companies House which will be consulted on later this year, and</p></li><li><p>Strengthening
the AML supervisory regime through the work of the OPBAS.</p></li></ul>
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