Security Minister (): Economic crime is a significant threat to our
national security and to the prosperity of the UK. To effectively
prevent, investigate and disrupt economic crime, it is vital that
public bodies and private sector entities are able to share and
exploit data. Where an organisation only has access to its own
information, it is unable to spot criminal networks operating
across sectors, businesses and jurisdictions.
In recent years, Government, law enforcement and the private
sector have made significant progress to enhance
information-sharing capabilities, having launched in 2015 the
UK's Joint Money Laundering Investigations Taskforce (JMLIT) has
evolved into a multi-layered capability that now includes Public
Private Threat Groups and time-limited cells that address
specific economic crimes. More recently, also underpinned by
Section 7 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 the NCA, and financial
sector partners have created a dynamic data-led arm of
public-private partnership that integrates banking data with law
enforcement data to target poly-criminality, known as Data
Fusion.
However, it is clear that the legislative landscape remains
complex. Regulations operate differently across sectors, there
are operational challenges in joining together separate datasets
and, more broadly, there is often a lack of confidence and trust
to share information due to the threat of legal challenge.
That is why I am pleased to announce that the Government today is
publishing a Call for Evidence on Economic Crime Information
Sharing. This Call for Evidence focuses on identifying legal,
operational, and cultural barriers to effective data sharing for
the purposes of tackling crime, as well as opportunities to
strengthen the system through reform.
I invite individuals and organisations to share their views with
Government, including law enforcement, regulators, prosecutors,
businesses in the anti-money laundering regulated sector,
technology platforms, telecoms providers, online marketplaces,
and others that hold valuable data relevant to economic crime
threats.
A copy of the Call for Evidence will be placed in the Libraries
of both Houses and published on Gov.uk.
