§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will take measures to reinforce the United Kingdom's ability to combat money laundering and particularly terrorist financing, not only within the United Kingdom, but also in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and British overseas dependencies. [HL866]
§ Lord RookerThe United Kingdom already has stringent laws against money laundering and terrorist financing, as do the Crown dependencies, but is committed to further strengthening these.
The Proceeds of Crime Bill, introduced to Parliament on 18 October, would consolidate and extend the current law on money laundering offences.
In his Statement on 15 October, in another place, my right honourable friend the Home Secretary announced that the Government are looking urgently at a package of anti-terrorist measures, including measures to combat the financing of terrorism.
The Government are also taking action to strengthen anti-money laundering regulation. On 15 October, my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced measures for a new regulatory regime for bureaux de change and other money service businesses, designated to reduce the exploitation of that sector for money laundering.
Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Financial Services Authority (FAS) will have the combating of financial crime as one of its four statutory objectives. In fulfilling this, the FSA has issued money laundering rules which will come into force on 30 November.
The Crown dependencies and overseas territories have committed themselves to introduce appropriate measures against terrorist financing equivalent to those in the United Kingdom.