Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what policy is adopted by HM Revenue and Customs in deciding whether to publish details of enforcement actions taken against regulated sectors under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

Supervision under the Money Laundering Regulations is a function of HMRC. In making decisions on publication of information about this function, HMRC considers transparency, consistency and confidentiality in determining how best to meet legal requirements. Legislation that informs these decisions includes the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act, the Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act and the Money Laundering Regulations.

As explained in my answer of 20th February, “HMRC does not publish enforcement information broken down by sector as this could prejudice the prevention and detection of crime.”

Information relating to coverage and the likely penalties for non-compliance could be used by criminals to aid them in choosing approaches to attempt to launder money or finance terrorism.