Lammy to set out plans to crack down on dirty money

David Lammy is set to lay out the UK Government’s plans to tackle Britain’s £100 billion money laundering problem on Monday.

Announcing a new anti-corruption strategy in London, the Deputy Prime Minister will make more than 100 commitments to make the UK a harder target for corrupt practices.

The strategy is expected to include stronger law enforcement action to tackle bribery and corruption in the public sector and financial services, as well as tougher sanctions on corrupt lawyers and bankers who enable the flow of dirty money.

It will also feature a £3 million investment by the Foreign Office to support investigative journalists working to expose corruption.

The money will help to fund the work of Transparency International, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective.

Other measures set to be announced on Monday include £15 million for the City of London police’s anti-corruption unit, greater transparency in political donations and a review of stolen assets in the UK to be led by anti-corruption champion Baroness Margaret Hodge, according to a report in The Guardian.

Campaigners have been calling for a new anti-corruption strategy since the previous one expired in 2022.

Duncan Hames, director of policy at Transparency International UK, said the launch of the strategy was a “critical opportunity” to demonstrate Britain’s leadership in fighting corruption at home and abroad.

He said: “From ending the UK’s role as a haven for dirty money to restoring integrity in our politics, the challenges are clear. We urge the government to rise to the moment with genuinely ambitious reforms.”

Mr Lammy made fighting corruption one of his top priorities in his previous role as foreign secretary, following increasing concern among campaigners that the UK had become a haven for illicit cash.

The National Crime Agency estimates that £100 billion is laundered through the UK every year.

Recent years have seen high-profile scandals, including concerns raised about contracts awarded during the Covid pandemic and the jailing of former MEP Nathan Gill for accepting bribes to make pro-Russian statements.

Ahead of the launch of the strategy, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that the UK would host an anti-corruption summit in June 2026, fulfilling another of Mr Lammy’s previous commitments.

The summit will take place 10 years after David Cameron hosted a similar meeting shortly before his resignation in 2016.

Ms Cooper said the summit would target illicit gold used to fund the war in Ukraine; property used by criminals to hide their cash; and cryptocurrency, which she said was “increasingly exploited by people smugglers”.

Arguing that “dirty money fuels crime on the streets of the UK and drives conflict and instability overseas”, she said the UK Government was “committed to turning the tide” on corruption.