Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of anti-money laundering provisions in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002; and what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the 2002 Act on small businesses.

The UK is internationally recognised as having some of the strongest controls and legislation worldwide when it comes to tackling money laundering and bringing to justice those who seek to use or hide the proceeds of crime. There has been no recent assessment of the effectiveness of anti-money laundering provisions in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. In 2017, the Regulatory Policy Committee, which considers the impact of legislation on business, rated the Criminal Finances Bill as ‘fit for purpose’. They agreed that the Bill would “involve no significant burden on small businesses”. The Criminal Finances Act amended the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and gained Royal Assent in 2017.