Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many electronic money institutions have (a) had their activities restricted and (b) been de-authorised following an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question is a matter for Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which is an independent, non-governmental body.
The FCA will respond to the Honourable Member by letter and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the number of (a) Suspicious Activity Reports and (b) Defence Against Money Laundering Suspicious Activity Reports from electronic payment providers.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury’s Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 place requirements onto electronic payment providers to establish policies, controls and procedures to mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.
HM Treasury works closely with the National Crime Agency, who are responsible for collecting and interpreting Suspicious Activity Reports and other intelligence, and with the Financial Conduct Authority, who supervise authorised electronic payment providers, to monitor the threat. The government will be publishing an updated assessment of the risks in its upcoming update to the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing National Risk Assessment.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the (a) potential risk of the use of e-payment platforms for money laundering and (b) likelihood that those platforms are used to launder criminal money originating from Russia.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sectors. The UK’s 2020 National Risk Assessment for money laundering and terrorist financing judged that payment and e-money services were at medium risk of money laundering. Reflecting this risk, payment service providers and electric money institutions offering e-payment platforms in the UK are required to be authorised by the FCA, and supervised to ensure they meet the anti-money laundering requirements set out in the Money Laundering Regulations. The government is continuing to monitor this risk, and intends to publish an updated National Risk Assessment next year.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help support the enforcement of UK sanctions.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) is responsible for civil enforcement of the UK’s financial sanctions regimes.
OFSI is committed to ensuring that the UK has the strongest possible capability to implement and enforce the UK’s financial sanctions. OFSI has scaled up its enforcement capabilities through legislative changes and expanded its team, allowing it to progress a higher number of complex investigations. For example, in the financial year 2022 – 2023 OFSI increased resource in its enforcement team by 175%.
OFSI expects to see the first monetary penalties resulting from breaches related to the 2022 Russia designations in 2024.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her planned timetable is for publishing its response to the consultations on (a) reform of the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervisory system, published on 30 June 2023, (b) Improving the effectiveness of the Money Laundering Regulations, published on 11 March 2024 and (c) Senior Managers & Certification Regime, published on 30 March 2023.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Responses to these consultations have been invaluable in building the evidence base on potential reforms. Policy development is ongoing, and next steps will be set out as soon as possible.