Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have been (a) convicted and (b) fined under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 by offence since 2010.

Since 2010, over 9700 people in England and Wales have been successfully convicted for money laundering offences – most of these are under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) which provides for various money laundering offences, including where an individual knows or suspects they may be facilitating money laundering or seeks to conceal criminal property. The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and the subsequent update, the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLRs) focus on ensuring regulated businesses put in place controls to guard against money laundering or terrorist finance. Supervisors are appointed by the Treasury to monitor compliance with these regulations and primarily use a range of supervisory tools to promote compliance, including warning notices, action plans, financial penalties or withdrawal of the right to practice. The vast majority of breaches of the MLRs are remedied or penalised using these supervisory tools. Since 2010 there were over 3,539 fines issued on firms and individuals across the regime.