Money laundering - “whose problem?”

11 September has added new urgency to UK initiatives against financial crime and especially money laundering. In this major article Gary Hagland, a former compliance officer, considers organised economic crime and money laundering from the compliance function perspective against the backdrop of strengthened statute law and regulation.

The political response to the tragic events of 11 September will have repercussions for all that go way beyond the ability of many to immediately comprehend. The British Government has tabled measures to improve mechanisms for tracking the flow of terrorist funds, including tougher suspicious transaction reporting requirements. This keeps true to the recently extended remit of the Financial Action Task Force to combat money laundering. Agreement has also been reached by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers on revisions to the Directive on Money Laundering which will bring, inter alia , lawyers and accountants, within the aegis of the Money Laundering Regulations. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, has also announced that the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) will be given additional resources to focus on terrorist financing.