Seven banks, including Barclays, NatWest, and Lloyds, have agreed to share customer data with the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of the largest-ever global initiative to combat money laundering, criminal gangs, and the movement of "dirty money" across the nation.
A year ago, Reuters reported that over six banks, including Lloyds and NatWest, were engaging in trials with government and law enforcement agencies exchanging information on customer accounts. This prompted worries about potential economic crime threats to the United Kingdom.
According to the NCA, a top investigator, the initiative started in May and has already uncovered eight new crime networks that may be taking advantage of the financial system. It also featured voluntary data sharing agreements with Santander, TSB, Metro Bank, and Starling Bank.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which brought attention to the ways in which kleptocrats and criminals were using the nation as a haven to launder, hide, and spend "dirty money," Britain has stepped up efforts to combat economic crime, which lawmakers estimate costs the economy up to 350 billion pounds ($452 billion) annually.
Three criminal networks have been forwarded to the NCA's intelligence branch for additional examination, according to Adrian Searle, head of the organization's National Economic criminal Centre, who spoke with Reuters. Additionally, fresh intelligence connected to ten of the agency's largest investigations has been unearthed by the study. He withheld specifics.
"The fundamental purpose is to bring together the collective efforts of law enforcement, government, regulators and the private sector to combat economic crime," Searle stated.
In April, Singapore opened a new tab (Collaborative exchange of Money Laundering/Terrorist Financing Information and Cases) with six banks and launched COSMIC, a digital customer data exchange platform. However, Searle pointed out that the local regulator—rather than police enforcement—led this.
Bank employees are seconded to the NCA as part of a program that is scheduled to continue until October. The team, which will consist of 15 to 20 intelligence officers, data scientists, and analysts, will investigate the flow of money that may be indicative of criminal activity while making sure that genuine clients are left alone.
For an extended period, banks have been reluctant to divulge consumer information for fear of violating European data protection and privacy rules. This has resulted in the possibility of lawsuits from clients whose accounts have been frozen while enquiries are underway.
The banks and the NCA, however, maintain that they will only provide account information regarding clients, individuals, or companies who fit a predetermined profile for possible criminal activity and have "multiple clear indicators of economic crime" on file. Attorneys for banks have also made sure that any data exchange carries a reasonable risk.
"We are extremely aware of the concerns regarding data privacy," remarked a senior banking official who took part in the experiment.
"It's also clear that our terms and conditions as banks enable us to share the information without notification to the customer because this is all ultimately to do with fulfilling our legal obligations to help detect crime and prevent financial harm," he stated.
The initiative is being watched by the regulator Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The lender stated that there wouldn't have been as much demand for the pilot without this.
The program expands upon an initial trial conducted between October 2021 and February 2022 by the NCA, NatWest, and Lloyds. In addition to resulting in one arrest and prosecution, it investigated the viability and advantages of combining bank and criminal data to more effectively detect and disrupt economic crime.
Nonetheless, the NCA notes that the number of discovered accounts constitutes a "very small fraction" of the total British accounts.
The ultimate objective of these trials is to open the door for the application of data for real-time insight in crime prevention.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
A year ago, Reuters reported that over six banks, including Lloyds and NatWest, were engaging in trials with government and law enforcement agencies exchanging information on customer accounts. This prompted worries about potential economic crime threats to the United Kingdom.
According to the NCA, a top investigator, the initiative started in May and has already uncovered eight new crime networks that may be taking advantage of the financial system. It also featured voluntary data sharing agreements with Santander, TSB, Metro Bank, and Starling Bank.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which brought attention to the ways in which kleptocrats and criminals were using the nation as a haven to launder, hide, and spend "dirty money," Britain has stepped up efforts to combat economic crime, which lawmakers estimate costs the economy up to 350 billion pounds ($452 billion) annually.
Three criminal networks have been forwarded to the NCA's intelligence branch for additional examination, according to Adrian Searle, head of the organization's National Economic criminal Centre, who spoke with Reuters. Additionally, fresh intelligence connected to ten of the agency's largest investigations has been unearthed by the study. He withheld specifics.
"The fundamental purpose is to bring together the collective efforts of law enforcement, government, regulators and the private sector to combat economic crime," Searle stated.
In April, Singapore opened a new tab (Collaborative exchange of Money Laundering/Terrorist Financing Information and Cases) with six banks and launched COSMIC, a digital customer data exchange platform. However, Searle pointed out that the local regulator—rather than police enforcement—led this.
Bank employees are seconded to the NCA as part of a program that is scheduled to continue until October. The team, which will consist of 15 to 20 intelligence officers, data scientists, and analysts, will investigate the flow of money that may be indicative of criminal activity while making sure that genuine clients are left alone.
For an extended period, banks have been reluctant to divulge consumer information for fear of violating European data protection and privacy rules. This has resulted in the possibility of lawsuits from clients whose accounts have been frozen while enquiries are underway.
The banks and the NCA, however, maintain that they will only provide account information regarding clients, individuals, or companies who fit a predetermined profile for possible criminal activity and have "multiple clear indicators of economic crime" on file. Attorneys for banks have also made sure that any data exchange carries a reasonable risk.
"We are extremely aware of the concerns regarding data privacy," remarked a senior banking official who took part in the experiment.
"It's also clear that our terms and conditions as banks enable us to share the information without notification to the customer because this is all ultimately to do with fulfilling our legal obligations to help detect crime and prevent financial harm," he stated.
The initiative is being watched by the regulator Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The lender stated that there wouldn't have been as much demand for the pilot without this.
The program expands upon an initial trial conducted between October 2021 and February 2022 by the NCA, NatWest, and Lloyds. In addition to resulting in one arrest and prosecution, it investigated the viability and advantages of combining bank and criminal data to more effectively detect and disrupt economic crime.
Nonetheless, the NCA notes that the number of discovered accounts constitutes a "very small fraction" of the total British accounts.
The ultimate objective of these trials is to open the door for the application of data for real-time insight in crime prevention.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
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