New UK strategy pledges tougher action on corrupt professional enablers and reforms to AML oversight
The government has pledged to increase pressure on what it describes as “corrupt” professional enablers, including lawyers, as part of its new UK Anti-Corruption Strategy 2025. In a statement, the Home Office said it intended to take stronger action against individuals who facilitate the movement of illicit wealth and to develop more robust ethical standards across professions exposed to financial crime risks.
According to the Home Office, the strategy aims to hold to account those who help criminal actors legitimise or conceal their assets. It said the government would expand the use of sanctions and enhance the National Crime Agency’s capability to identify and pursue professional enablers involved in moving criminal proceeds. The approach, it noted, requires sustained coordination and more comprehensive oversight across high-risk sectors.
The document outlined a range of issues that it considers essential to addressing the role of enablers. These included improving supervision of affected professions, increasing public-private information sharing, carrying out targeted disruption activity, and reinforcing the importance of professional ethics. The government said these measures would be introduced gradually over the next five years.
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The strategy identified legal services as one of the sectors with elevated risk, based on findings from the National Risk Assessment. It said the government would consult on adding new regulated activities to the money laundering regulations during the lifetime of the strategy, with the aim of strengthening protections where vulnerabilities remain.
The report also welcomed recommendations made earlier this year by the Institute of Business Ethics’ taskforce on the legal profession. The taskforce had encouraged firms to adopt a “legitimate provenance of wealth test” when onboarding clients, positioning it as an ethical safeguard that complements existing legal and regulatory requirements. The strategy said innovative approaches of this kind would be important in countering the complex challenges posed by corruption.
While the document referenced the issue of SLAPPs—strategic lawsuits against public participation—it did so only briefly, noting commitments to implement relevant provisions in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and to consider future methods for tackling SLAPPs more comprehensively.
A further section addressed changes to anti-money laundering (AML) supervision announced in October, which will see responsibility for overseeing lawyers and accountants transferred to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The government said consolidating supervision under the FCA would create a more effective regime by improving transparency and aligning with international expectations. It added that the FCA’s experience in data-driven supervision and its close links to law enforcement would support the detection and disruption of sophisticated money laundering activity.
Implementation of the new model will take several years, with firms expected to transition in phases. Commentators acknowledged both the ambition and the scale of the shift. Sam Tate, partner and global head of regulatory investigations at Clyde & Co, said the expansion of sanctions against enablers was significant and warranted close attention. Colette Best, director of AML at Kingsley Napley, noted that while the new system may deliver greater consistency, the profession is awaiting clarity on timing, transitional arrangements, and updated guidance.
Campaign group Spotlight on Corruption welcomed political support for the strategy but said some areas lacked clear timelines and relied heavily on future reviews.