Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to help ensure that the proceeds of corruption in developing countries do not enter the UK financial system.

This Government is committed to protecting and enhancing the integrity of the UK's financial system. Our efforts to tackle economic crime, including corruption in developing countries, are set out in the Economic Crime Plan 2019-2022, a joint public-private initiative. DFID works closely with Her Majesty's Treasury and other Government Departments to implement the international elements of that plan. That has included contributing Official Development Assistance to the establishment of the National Economic Crime Centre, through DFID's Tacking Illicit Finance Globally Programme, enabling it to work with developing countries around the world. It has also included increasing support to developing countries to tackle illicit finance by sharing UK expertise, establishing new Illicit Finance specialist posts in Kenya, Somalia, Mauritius and Nigeria.

The UK's efforts to prevent and pursue the proceeds of corruption from developing countries with a UK connection of course pre-date the current Economic Crime Plan. For example, FCDO has funded the International Corruption Unit in the National Crime Agency, leading to 30 people and companies being convicted of corruption offences linked to developing countries and almost £1bn of stolen assets stolen being restrained, confiscated or returned to developing countries.