Comment on the government’s 76-page Fraud Strategy - SmartSearch

04 May 2023

Following the announcement today by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the Government’s 76-page Fraud Strategy, we have a comment from digital compliance specialists SmartSearch.

SmartSearch’s market-leading technology supports 6,000 clients and 55,000 users across regulated firm in financial services, property, legal, banking and gambling with anti-money laundering (AML) checks.

Martin Cheek, managing director of SmartSearch and qualified lawyer said: “It is encouraging to see the Prime Minister leading a new initiative with a clear range of measures aimed at reducing the flow of illicit funds through the UK’s economy.

“Money laundering seeks to legitimise the proceeds of some of the world’s worst criminals – drug dealers, people traffickers, online fraudsters and corrupt officials. Its victims are among the most vulnerable in society. And yet a staggering £88bn of illicit funds continues to be laundered in the UK every year.

“The Government’s new strategy rightly stresses the importance of preventing money laundering as a critical component of its broader efforts to combat fraud and it re-focuses the emphasis on effective customer identification, enhanced due diligence and transaction monitoring as vital tools to help staunch the flow of illicit funds.

“It is particularly encouraging to see the report recognising the need for financial institutions to adopt robust anti-money laundering technology solutions to detect and prevent illicit activity.

“As the Government renews its focus on preventing fraud, and given the eye-watering fines and reputational damage which come with money-laundering breaches, investing in AML and digital compliance is becoming more of a cost-saving than a cost for regulated firms as they buckle under the increasing weight of compliance.”