Organized Crime In The New Millennium

More than 200,000 reports of suspected money laundering are submitted annually to
authorities in the UK (there were 240,582 reports in the year ended 30 September 2010.
This was an increase from the 228,834 reports submitted in the previous year). Most of
these reports are submitted by banks and similar financial institutions (there were
186,897 reports from the banking sector in the year ended 30 September 2010).
Although 5,108 different organizations submitted suspicious activity reports to the
authorities in the year ended 30 September 2010, just four organizations submitted
approximately half of all reports, and the top 20 reporting organizations accounted for
three-quarters of all reports.
The offence of failing to report a suspicion of money laundering by another person
carries a maximum penalty of 5 years' imprisonment.
On 1 May 2018, the UK House of Commons, without opposition, passed the Sanctions
and Anti-Money Laundering Bill, which will set out the UK government's intended
approach to exceptions and licenses when the nation becomes responsible for
implementing its own sanctions and will also require notorious overseas British territory
tax havens such as the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands to establish public
registers of the beneficial ownership of firms in their jurisdictions by the end of 2020.
The legislation was passed by the House of Lords on 21 May and received Royal Asset
on 23 May. However, the Act's public register provision is facing legal challenges from
local governments in the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands, who argue that it
violates their Constitutional sovereignty.
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