§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the problems posed by anonymous numbered bank accounts in dealing with large-scale purveyors of drugs and the financing of the provision of chemical precursors to those who process coca leaves and other raw materials for drugs. [96885]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonAnonymous bank accounts, and other forms of excessive bank secrecy, provide an opportunity for criminals—including drug traffickers—to launder the proceeds of their crimes, to prevent law enforcement authorities from tracing criminal assets. The National Criminal Intelligence Service and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF, the leading international anti-money laundering body) confirm that anonymous numbered bank accounts remain one of the tools used by money launderers.
The Government is committed to furthering international efforts to ensure that banking secrecy is not abused to benefit those who trade in illegal drugs. The FATF's international standards on money laundering call on all states to prohibit the use of anonymous accounts. All FATF members, aside from Austria, have done so. The UK Government are actively supporting a variety of initiatives through, for example, the EU, the UN and the G7/8, as well as through bilateral relations with other countries, and through our relationship with the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, to ensure that the FATF's anti-money laundering standards are applied throughout the world. The Financial Services and Markets Bill provides new powers and responsibilities to the Financial Services Authority to combat money laundering in the UK.