Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of the UK’s financial markets for corrupt transactions by overseas investors; and what steps they are taking to combat such practices.

The UK’s openness and status as a global financial centre exposes it to the risk of illicit financial flows.

The UK’s National Risk Assessment 2017 assessed that retail banking, wholesale banking, capital markets and wealth management are all exposed to high money laundering risks. This assessment can be viewed online.

This government is committed to ensuring the UK’s financial system is hostile to illicit finance, and is taking action to protect the integrity of the UK financial system.

This includes introducing the Criminal Finances Act 2017 to enhance law enforcement’s powers to investigate and tackle financial crime, and comprehensively updating the Money Laundering Regulations to bring them in line with the latest international standards.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which supervises financial institutions conducts regular, detailed AML inspections of the major retail and investment banks operating in the UK. Where financial institutions fall short of their legal and regulatory obligations, the FCA has taken tough action.