§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of money that has been laundered through British businesses in each year since 1997–98; and if he will make a statement. [124733]
§ Mr. BoatengThe true scale of money laundered in the UK cannot be measured directly. Global money laundering has been estimated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the equivalent of between 2 per cent. and 5 per cent. of world input.
The UK has recently taken steps to strengthen its anti-money laundering regime, including through the Proceeds of Crime Act, the money laundering provisions of which came into force earlier this year. The Government intends to lay Regulations before Parliament shortly that will implement the provisions of the 2nd EU Money Laundering Directive.