A new government strategy launched yesterday makes welcome commitments to ramp up action against money launderers and their professional enablers, from the high street to the square mile.
But to achieve real impact, these ambitions need to be backed by a long-term government funding plan that allows law enforcement to recruit and retain the specialists they badly need, rather than relying on an annual private sector levy which leaves agencies in a precarious position about their future resourcing.
The first of its kind, the Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Strategy looks to strengthen the UK’s defences against dirty money while also pursuing illicit wealth in the hands of criminals and corrupt elites.
The plan promises tougher action against professionals who move and conceal illicit wealth. This includes turning the Financial Conduct Authority into an AML super-regulator for lawyers, accountants and company formation agents, while tightening the rules around high-risk activity such as property development. Importantly, the plan also looks to develop a new “reputation laundering charter” to clamp down on professionals who whitewash the images of corrupt elites and kleptocrats.
The Strategy places asset recovery at the heart of its plan to break the business model of criminality. The government’s latest statistics on asset recovery, released last week, show that system-wide prioritisation of enforcement against illicit wealth is starting to pay off, with a 20% rise in recoveries in 2025/26 and £1.1 billion denied.
But despite these gains, the reinvestment gap is widening. Despite this 20% boost in recoveries the amount recycled back into law enforcement only increased by 3% while victim compensation plummeted by 45%. To achieve real impact under this new strategy, the government needs to reinvest a greater share of recovered assets to provide long-term, sustainable funding that benefits law enforcement and local communities.
Dr Helen Taylor, Deputy Director of Spotlight on Corruption, said:
“The government’s first ever anti-money laundering and asset recovery strategy is a welcome step forward. But for the UK to really tackle the scale of dirty money that enters our economy, we need a robust funding model behind this plan rather than relying solely on the private sector to cough up. Reinvesting more recovered assets back into law enforcement, and returning more compensation to victims is critical for an effective asset recovery framework. While asset recovery went up by 20% last year, reinvestment into law enforcement increased by a mere 3%. The government needs to take a long hard look at how to ensure more of the assets recovered make it back to supporting the hardworking officers who tracked them down, and to the communities from which they were pilfered in the first place.”
