This submission sets out why the second phase of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2025 is a major opportunity to enhance the UK’s ability to fight economic crime and promote economic growth for law abiding business by:
- Creating a virtuous circle of investment in law enforcement agencies, which are likely to provide a good return on this investment through recovering criminal assets and imposing fines on wrongdoers;
- Providing these agencies with up to date technology for major efficiency gains;
- Seizing the opportunity to make the National Crime Agency fit for the future by fast-tracking pay reform; and
- Resourcing upfront investment in ambitious reform to the UK’s anti-money laundering (AML) supervisory regime (with future costs covered through fees and reinvestment of AML fines) to provide a solid foundation for economic growth.
Recommendations for the Government
- Ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review, explore mechanisms for reinvesting a significantly higher percentage of enforcement receipts back into law enforcement, including through reconstituting the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme into a ring-fenced Economic Crime Fighting Fund.
- Ensure key law enforcement agencies fighting economic crime have sufficient technological capabilities.
- Provide the NCA with sufficient investment to undertake transformational pay reform. This should allow it to establish a cross-agency pay structure which means that it:
a. can pay at least equivalent to the police;
b. has enhanced flexibility to pay higher wages for mission-critical roles in cyber and legal; and
c. can provide clear and attractive pay progression. - Allow meaningful investment in the UK’s capabilities to tackle money laundering and improve asset recovery, including upfront investment in AML supervisory reform.
To read the submission in full, click on the link below.
