Baroness Wheatcroft (CB):...The regulations that we are debating
today are designed to penalise those guilty of corruption. Of
course, those people are well schooled in money laundering, but I
wonder whether we are doing enough to combat money laundering in
the UK. In 2018, the National Crime Agency estimated that more than
£100 billion a year in illicit funds made its way through the UK
every year. Are we doing enough to catch that or to penalise those
involved in the process? Lord Rooker...Request free trial
(CB):...The regulations that we are debating today are
designed to penalise those guilty of corruption. Of course, those
people are well schooled in money laundering, but I wonder whether
we are doing enough to combat money laundering in the UK. In 2018,
the National Crime Agency estimated that
more than £100 billion a year in illicit funds made its way through
the UK every year. Are we doing enough to catch that or to penalise
those involved in the process?
(Lab) [V]:...I have a couple of detailed
questions about the regulations. Can we be assured that the
National Crime Agency has been
given the necessary resources, at least in line with the paragraph
in the de minimis form, which as I understand it was almost a
doubling of the existing funds of almost £300,000 and 4.5 full-time
staff up to nearly £500,000 and eight full-time staff? This is
expensive, but it has to work, and without resources it will
not...
(Lab) [V]:...This reliance on multiple regulators
and trade associations is not helpful at all. I see no clarity in
the SI on enforcement or independence of regulators. Who will be
enforcing this SI and prosecuting: the FCA, the Serious Fraud
Office, the Crown Prosecution Service, the National Crime Agency the police,
the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, the Foreign
Commonwealth and Development Office, or somebody else? How will all
these organisations, working to different standards and benchmarks,
be co-ordinated and resourced? I hope the Minister can provide some
answers...
(Con):...The noble Lord,
, asked who in government has responsibility for this. The
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office holds policy
responsibility for sanctions, asset freezes are enforced by Her
Majesty’s Treasury through the OFSI, and travel bans are enforced
by the Home Office, but there are of course roles for the
National Crime Agency HMRC and
others in enforcement...
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