Andreas Frank reports: Hundreds of billions of pounds of international criminal money is laundered through banks and their subsidiaries every year, according to the National Crime Agency’s latest analysis of the serious and organised crime threats faced by the UK.
The analysis has suggested that high transaction volumes, the developed financial services industry and political stability have made the UK’s financial system particularly attractive to money launderers.
The NCA said that most proceeds of UK serious and organised
crime were laundered through UK banks, wire transfer companies and other regulated businesses, including money service businesses.
National Crime Agency director general Keith Bristow said: “To relentlessly disrupt serious and organised crime as effectively as possible, we need to take informed decisions about how law enforcement co-ordinates and targets its resources. This assessment is the most detailed and broad-ranging crime threat analysis ever produced by law enforcement.
“The assessment, and the response to it, is owned by the whole of law enforcement, including police forces and other national agencies, as well as Whitehall departments, local government, industry partners and the third sector. It helps us maximise our collective impact in order to cut serious and organised crime.”
One of the key themes of the coming year is an increase in the use of denial-of-service attacks, and technology ransom demands. The UK’s networked systems are said to be at particular risk and this economic crime is expected to continue over the next three years.
Currently, says the NCA, organised crime accounts for economic losses of around £24bn per year. Cybercrime has increased over the past two decades and represents increasing threats.
The report says: “Over the last two decades, the internet and digital communications technology have steadily increased their penetration into all sectors of UK society and business. More and more government and public services are going online and it is likely that attempted cyber attacks against government services will increase.
“In much the same way as criminals – including serious and organised criminals – have in the offline world, they identify and exploit any advantage they can to perpetrate their crimes.”
The NCA said that a handful of cybercrime risks would have the most impact over the three-year period, and said that the threat of data hauls, denial of service attacks and network disruption were all likely to increase.
Note: Mr. Frank commends the UK for undertaking this study and for facing a serious problem which remains unaddressed in most of the civilized world.
NCA National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime 2014
Rodrigo de Matos