## United Kingdom: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Some Forward Looking Cross-Sectoral Issues

_IMF Staff Country Reports, April 8, 2022_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [United Kingdom: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Some Forward Looking Cross-Sectoral Issues](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2022/04/07/united-kingdom-financial-sector-assessment-program-some-forward-looking-cross-sectoral-516282)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2022/04/07/united-kingdom-financial-sector-assessment-program-some-forward-looking-cross-sectoral-516282/index.md)
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## Bibliographic details
- Published: April 8, 2022
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400206771.002

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### Summary
- The United Kingdom faces significant money laundering threats from foreign criminal proceeds owing to its status as a global financial center.
- The authorities estimated the realistic possibility of hundreds of billions of pounds of illicit proceeds being laundered in their jurisdiction.
- This technical note (TN) focuses on key aspects of the United Kingdom’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime: risk-based AML/CFT supervision, entity transparency and international cooperation.

### Principal money laundering threats and sources
- Illicit proceeds from foreign crimes, including:
  - transnational organized crime,
  - overseas corruption,
  - tax crimes.
- Some Crown Dependencies (CDs) and British Overseas Territories (BOTs) have featured in U.K. money laundering investigations.
- Emerging risks include cryptoassets.

### High-risk sectors and service providers
- Financial services.
- Trust and company service providers (TCSPs).
- Accountancy sector.
- Legal sector.

### Contextual drivers of risk
- Brexit has an impact upon the money laundering risks in the United Kingdom.
- The COVID pandemic has an impact upon the money laundering risks in the United Kingdom.

### Authorities’ assessment capacity and recommended enhancements
- The authorities have demonstrated a deep and robust experience in assessing and understanding their ML/TF risks.
- Leveraging technology tools such as big data and machine learning to analyze cross-border payments may add further dimension to their risk assessments.

### Focus areas of the technical note (TN)
- Risk-based AML/CFT supervision.
- Entity transparency.
- International cooperation.

*United Kingdom: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Some Forward Looking Cross-Sectoral Issues (IMF Staff Country Reports 2022, Issue 108, Pages: 69).*

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## Content in this bundle

- **1. Post-Brexit AML/CFT Legal Framework**
  - [1. Post-Brexit AML/CFT Legal Framework (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/cr/2022/english/1gbrea2022009.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [1. Post-Brexit AML/CFT Legal Framework (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/cr/2022/english/1gbrea2022009.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2022/04/07/united-kingdom-financial-sector-assessment-program-some-forward-looking-cross-sectoral-516282_