NRA: Ineffectiveness of current system: Overview

Question 1

What does an effective system look like?

Answer 1

An effective AML regime for corrupt capital should restrict and prevent the flow of proceeds of corruption into the UK, as a result of regulated entities refusing to service suspicious transactions:

• allow for corruptly acquired assets to be identified, recovered and returned, and
• where possible for guilty parties to be brought to justice

Question 2

What’s your proof that it’s ineffective?

Answer 2

Asset recovery results are extremely low compared to the likely scale of the crime:

• 2013 NAO report indicated that only 26p out of every £100 is confiscated from organised criminals
• In 2011, UNODC estimated that the global detection of rate of illicit funds is as low as 1% and the seizure rate is possibly as low as 0.2%

Question 3

How much is the UK freezing/recovering?

Answer 3

Based on conservative estimates, the UK is unlikely to have frozen any more than 0.75% of global corrupt financial flows per annum for the period 2010 - 2012.

(OECD): In 2010 - 2012, UK was one of 4 countries which returned frozen assets:

• Froze 32% of total (US$225.5 million per annum)
• returned 45% of total (US£33.5 per annum)