§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suspicious transactions have been reported by banks to the authorities in the last three years; and of these how many have been investigated by the authorities. [104894]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthI have been asked to reply.
The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) monitors whether the financial disclosures it receives and forwards to law enforcement agencies are of value to those agencies.
For the calendar years 2000, 2001 and 2002 NCIS received 18,408; 31,251 and 56,126 disclosures respectively, which were forwarded to law enforcement for action as necessary. Of these, NCIS received feedback on 8,060; 13,464 and 10,619 disclosures respectively of which 5,187, (64 per cent.); 11,009 (82 per cent.) and 8,125 (77 per cent.) replies indicated that the reports had assisted law enforcement efforts.