§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of(a) fraud and (b) money laundering were received for each of the last five years for which figures are available by the National Criminal Intelligence Service. [145865]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Economic Crime Unit of the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) is responsible for the receipt, analysis and dissemination of all reports made in the United Kingdom which may be indicative of suspicious transaction of money laundering.
The numbers of such reports received for each of the last five years are as follows:
207W
Year Number 1995 13,710 1996 16,125 1997 14,148 1998 14,129 1999 14,500 Reports are passed by NCIS to the appropriate body to investigate; this is usually the Financial Investigation Unit of the particular police force concerned.
NCIS do not routinely receive reports of fraud and no reliable central records are maintained of allegations of fraud.