§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms are in place to prevent any influx of funds into the United Kingdom generated by criminal activities in the former Soviet Union.
§ Mr. MacleanNew legislation which came into force earlier this year requires banks and other financial institutions to report knowledge or suspicion of drug money laundering to the law enforcement agencies and ecourages them to report other suspicious transactions without fear of prosecution for breach of customer confidentiality. It also makes the laundering of the proceeds of any serious crime a criminal offence. The National Criminal Intelligence Service, which receives all reports of suspicious transactions, and HM Customs and Excise have established channels of communications which enable them to co-operate with their counterparts in Russia and other countries in the former Soviet Union.