Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last assessed the risk that money service businesses were involved in the finance of crime and terrorism; what conclusions they reached as a result of any such assessment; and what action they took, if any, to tighten inspection and supervision of such businesses.

Law enforcement agencies and the statutory anti-money laundering (AML) supervisors monitor the money laundering and terrorism financing risk associated with money service businesses on an ongoing basis. The Government published a National Risk Assessment (NRA) of the risk of money laundering and terrorism financing in October 2017. The NRA 2017 concluded that there was a high risk associated with money service businesses.

The Government recognises the importance of developing and maintaining a robust and shared national understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing risks. The 2020 NRA, which will be published by July 2020, will provide an update on how these risks have changed since the 2017 NRA.

HMRC recognises the risk posed by money service businesses and continues to devote a significant proportion of resources to their supervision. The NECC and HMRC are committed to working with public and private sector stakeholders to further reduce the extent to which money service businesses are used to facilitate serious and organised crime. Aided by a recent increase in supervision fees, HMRC committed as part of the Economic Crime Plan to ensure a robust approach to deliver an enhanced risk-based approach to its AML/CTF supervision by March 2021.

In September 2019, HMRC announced a record fine of £7.8million against a London-based money service business for breaching the Money Laundering Regulations. This fine followed a joint month-long crack down on high risk money service businesses lead by HMRC, the Metropolitan Police and the Financial Conduct Authority.