The UK’s approach to Money Laundering Settlements

19 Jul 2021, 35 mins ago

Freezing orders and stricter due diligence into the affairs of these individuals to ensure they are free of corruption and not engaging in money laundering.

However, the outcomes of certain high-profile cases where individuals have been investigated for corruption and/or money laundering have demonstrated the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) willingness to settle out-of-court on such cases, as opposed to enforcing more stringent, court-granted measures, like UWOs and freezing orders.

From a law enforcement perspective, settlements are a risk-free and straightforward approach, given that an individual under investigation is far more likely to prefer to settle over other punishments, as well as being more cost- and time-efficient than going to court. At the same time, UK law enforcement bodies are under pressure to achieve results and face criticism when they fail to do so, which further adds to the appeal of settlement as a remedy in money laundering cases.

There is, however, controversy with settlements as they might indicate that UK law enforcement bodies are struggling to decipher money laundering cases and that court measures such as UWOs and freezing orders are not sufficient to battle the issue of white-collar crime in the UK.

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