If someone breaks the law to hide money that has come from criminal activities, that is what is known as financial crime. It’s a big problem all over the world and criminals will use different ways to steal money and try to hide what they are doing. Organised crime costs the UK about £37 billion every year and financial crime is a big part of this.
Common Types of Financial Crime
Financial crime can include fraud, identity theft, money laundering, bribery, corruption, tax evasion and financing terrorist activities. These kinds of crimes are all to do with money and can involve stealing or lying. Many businesses use FCA compliance consultants, like the examples seen here, //www.adempi.co.uk/ to help them follow the rules, and this can also help to protect their businesses.
Money Laundering
Money laundering is when criminals try to make the money they’ve made from crimes look as though it’s legal. They might move it through different bank accounts or companies to hide where it came from. If they do this, it can make it harder for the police and banks to find out whether the money was made through crime. If you have a business, you must also register for the Money Laundering Register and undertake the right checks.
What Does Financial Crime Do?
Financial crime can hurt businesses and the economy as well as normal people. It can make people lose money and it also helps criminals pay for other illegal activities. This is why banks carry out checks on customers to see if there’s anything unusual happening.
