UK Govt Policy Paper – Anti-money laundering and asset recovery strategy 2026–2029

On 16 September 2026, the UK Government issued a Policy Paper concerning its anti-money laundering and asset recovery strategy 2026–2029.

Strong progress

Among other things the Policy Paper notes that the UK has made strong progress over the last decade, and three years on from the publication of Economic Crime Plan 2, performance is improving across the board. In the financial year 2025/26, there were 3,158 system-wide illicit finance disruptions (up 15% on 2024/25), and 4,085 money laundering convictions2 (up 11% on 2024/25).  Asset recovery is also increasing with £345.3 million recovered3 (up 9% on the six-year median), £1.1 billion denied to criminals (up 17% on the six-year median), and £26.1 million returned to victims (up 29% on the six-year median). Transparency has also improved, with over 33,000 entities registered on the Register of Overseas Entities and more than 106,000 addresses removed from the Companies House register where personal data was used without consent, as of end FY2025–2026.

Evolving threat

But the UK Government is aware that the threat is evolving fast. Online criminality, as well as newer technologies such as AI, cryptoassets and wider fintech are making it easier to move and conceal money at scale, including across borders.

Strategy

The UK Government’s strategy set out in the Policy Paper sets the direction for the UK’s anti-money laundering and asset recovery system over the next three years: it defines what the system will prioritise, how partners will work together, and where it will invest to stay ahead of the threat. The strategy has three core objectives:

• Make the UK’s defences more effective and efficient, while making it simpler and safer for honest businesses to grow.
• Disrupt money laundering, dismantling high-harm criminal networks at home and abroad, including those operating on high streets.
• Recover more criminal assets, returning money to law enforcement, victims and the public.

The strategy is built around three pillars that mutually reinforce each other and explain how the UK Government will deliver it:

• Target: The UK Government will focus time and effort on the criminals and activities that cause the most harm, cutting back low-value “box-ticking” work.
• Integrate: The UK Government will share information and work together better, so it can spot suspicious activity sooner and coordinate action to stop it.
• Empower: The UK Government will give the system the right people, training, technology and legal powers to act quickly, and remove barriers that slow things down.

Year 1

The Policy Paper notes that the steps taken in year 1 (2026/27) establish the architecture the whole strategy depends on. It brings together the capabilities the UK has developed over the past decade and connects them into a single, coherent system.

Pillar 1 -Target

• Launch the High Street Organised Crime Unit, investing £10 million in enforcement, and introduce stronger powers to close criminal businesses.

• Begin reducing anti-money laundering supervisors from 25 to 3.

• Review the suspicious activities report (SAR) regime for opportunities to reduce low-value activity.

• Consult on strengthening supervisory enforcement powers, reducing low-value activity, and whether to expand the regulatory perimeter for additional sectors.

Pillar 2 – Integrate

• Draft legislation to give the UK Financial Intelligence Unit new information gathering powers and legislate when Parliamentary time allows.

• Expand the number of specialists within policing dedicated to exploiting SAR intelligence.

• Conclude the Asset Ownership Review.

• Begin setting the UK’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) agenda, leveraging its 2026-28 FATF Presidency.

Pillar 3 – Empower

• Further disrupt Russian speaking professional money laundering networks.

• Operationalise the Professional Enablers Coordinator, directing law enforcement prioritisation and building system capability.

• Review and strengthen the asset recovery legislative toolkit and start recruitment of more asset recovery specialists, including a new Crown Prosecution Service civil recovery team.

Annex A of the Policy Paper sets out a delivery plan for the next three years.