On 5 September 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a speech on ‘A targeted and outcomes-based approach to tackling financial crime’, which was delivered by its executive director for markets and for international, Sarah Pritchard, at the Financial Crime Summit in London.
Key points from Ms Pritchard’s speech include:
- Fighting financial crime is one of the FCA’s priorities and is a key commitment in its 3-year strategy.
- In line with the national economic crime plan and fraud strategy, the FCA’s work on financial crime is based on a partnership approach. It has been working with partners across the whole UK system, through the UK’s public and private partnerships and the economic crime plan, whilst also driving a more integrated and targeted approach to tackling financial crime across the FCA.
- Financial crime is an issue not only for the financial sector but also for other sectors, and sharing data and intelligence is a vital tool in staying one step ahead. The FCA has been using an ‘innovative and data-led’ approach, including using data and technology to increase its capacity to identify illegal financial promotions on websites or social media.
- The FCA has published five reviews of firms’ financial crime controls since April 2023, sharing good and poor practice across the sector, to enable firms to target their approach and know what ‘good’ looks like.