On 12 July 2016, the FCA published its anti-money laundering (AML) annual report 2015/16.

In its report, the FCA explains how it has sought to achieve certain objectives over the past year, ensuring that:

1. Firms have adequate safeguards to prevent themselves from being used for financial crime, in particular from money laundering.
2. Firms’ financial crime controls are proportionate and operated efficiently, and that any unintended consequences are kept to a minimum.

The report covers:

1. Developments in the FCA’s AML supervision strategy.
2. Findings and outcomes from recent specialist supervision work.
3. Policy developments in the last year.
4. Independent assessments of the FCA’s AML supervision.
5. How the FCA co-operates with its partners both at home and overseas.

It also includes a section addressing future plans.

The FCA states that its financial crime and AML work will continue to be one of its seven top priorities and It will continue to

1. revise and enhance its supervision strategy, aiming to use the information from its new data return to focus its supervisory work more accurately on those firms and sectors presenting the highest money laundering risk.
2. to work with HM Treasury on key policy areas, such as the transposition of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive ((EU) 2015/849) (MLD4), and
3. will push forward its programme of work relating to de-risking. It is also planning to look at how new technology could be used to make firms’ AML systems and controls more efficient and less costly for both firms and consumers.

The FCA is currently working with HM Treasury and others to prepare for the next evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of AML supervision in the UK, which will take place in late 2017 and early 2018.

As the largest AML supervisor in the UK, the FCA will play a major part in this assessment.