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Written question asked by Keith Vaz (Labour) on Wednesday, 27 April 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 May 2016. It was answered by John Hayes (Conservative) on Tuesday, 3 May 2016 on behalf of the Home Office.

Serious Organised Crime Agency: Databases

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the of the potential benefits of replacing the ELMER database as part of the implementation of the Government's Action Plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance, published in April 2016.

Answer

As is set out in the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) Regime Annual Report, the SARs IT infrastructure processed 381,882 SARs in 2014/15. The Report can be found at:

http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/677-sars-annual-report-2015/file

In the National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which the Government published on 15 October 2015, it was recognised that the suspicious activity reports (SARS) IT infra structure is coming to the end of its life, and will need to be replaced. The Government launched the Action Plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance on 21 April, which sets out a programme to deliver a significantly improved anti-money laundering regime for the UK. As part of these improvements we will be working with public and private stakeholders to develop a replacement SARs IT infrastructure.

In the Action Plan for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, the Government set out that a replacement for the existing SARS IT infrastructure will be designed to support a significant improvement in the UK’s anti-money laundering regime. The benefits will include; more effective processing of SARs, including; automated cross-checking with law enforcement databases; development of intelligence on those responsible for money laundering; and better information on threats for sharing with the private sector. We are consulting on the proposals to improve the anti-money laundering regime.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
35757
Session
2015-16
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Databases Serious Organised Crime Agency
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk