Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much and what proportion of the Economic Crime Levy her Department plans to use to tackle money laundering in financial year (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.

The Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy aims to raise £100 million per year to support action to combat money laundering, with the funding available from 2023-24.

Alongside an increase in public sector spending announced at the 2021 Spending Review, the levy will provide an important private sector contribution from those industries at highest risk of being abused for money laundering. Taken together, this will result in an investment of around £400 million to tackle economic crime across the Spending Review period. That is a substantial investment and will support a step change in our response.

As outlined in the Government’s consultation on the design of the levy, all activities funded by the levy will contribute to tackling money laundering.

The Government has also committed to publishing an annual report on the levy, in addition to a more wide-ranging review by the end of 2027. These mechanisms will provide transparency on how the policy is performing, and how money raised through the levy is being spent.