Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help tackle the enablers of illicit finance in financial and legal services.

Tackling illicit finance remains a key priority for this Government. We recognise the role of professional enablers who exploit the integrity of their professions to facilitate serious and organised crime and corruption.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Strategy identifies the abuse of professional and financial services as a priority threat, and the Government is committed to intensifying its response including by investing in financial investigators, forensic accountants and cryptoasset capabilities. The Strategy will also deepen collaboration between Government, law enforcement and the private sector to identify criminal networks earlier and support faster disruption and asset recovery.

The Government is also reforming anti-money laundering supervision and intends for the Financial Conduct Authority to take responsibility for supervising professional services, including the legal sector. This will support a more consistent, proportionate and effective approach to supervision and help prevent professional services firms from being abused for money laundering.