Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been (a) prosecuted, (b) convicted and (c) given a prison sentence for money laundering in each of the last five years.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK has a robust anti-money laundering regime. The National Risk Assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing was published in 15 October 2015. This identified the threats and vulnerabilities we face in these areas. The Home Office will be publishing an Anti-Money Laundering Action Plan, setting out the steps that we will take to address them.

Sentencing is a matter for our independent courts, which must follow relevant sentencing guidelines. The independent Sentencing Council is responsible for issuing sentencing guidelines and it issued a guideline on money laundering in 2014, (effective from October 2014), following full public consultation. This is the first sentencing guideline covering money laundering.

The number of people prosecuted, convicted and given a custodial sentence for money laundering offences, in England and Wales, from 2010 to 2014 (the latest data available), can be viewed on the Ministry of Justice website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014 under “Criminal justice statistics outcomes by offence data tool”.

The largest fine imposed on an offender sentenced at all courts for a money laundering offence, in England and Wales, between 2010 and 2014 (the latest year for which data was available) was £50,000. The longest immediate custodial sentence handed down to an offender sentenced at all courts for a money laundering offence, in England and Wales, between 2010 and 2014 was 12 years.

Court proceedings data for calendar year 2015 is planned for publication in May 2016.