All firms can be affected by financial crime, whether it is internally (staff) or externally (clients). Our regulatory guide Financial crime: a guide for firms provides practical assistance and information for firms on actions they can take to reduce the risk that might be used to further financial crime.

How your firm might be affected by financial crime

The guide and our financial cirme thematic work identifies a number of ways your firm could be affected by financial crime, for example:

• a criminal using your firm's services to disguise the source of illicit funds; a customer defrauding your firm;
• a customer being defrauded by a third party because of your firm's actions (for example unintentionally allowing the customer's details into other people's hands);
• helping a customer to defraud a third party, such as HM Revenue and Customs, knowingly or not; and
• a staff member defrauding your firm.

If you know about or suspect money laundering or terrorist financing, it should be reported to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). More information is available on the SOCA website.

What you need to do

To reduce the risks from financial crime, firms need to:

• ensure they have assessed the financial crime risks their firm faces;
• have proportionate risk management systems and controls in place to address the risk of financial crime;
• be able to demonstrate that the risk assessment is reviewed regularly; and

In addition, senior managers should understand the identified risks and take appropriate and proportionate action to mitigate them.

Financial crime: a guide for firms contains self-assessment questions and good and poor practice guidance to help firms assess and improve their financial crime systems and controls.

Further information

Financial crime: a guide for firms
Project findings - Small firms financial crime review
Factsheet - Anti-money laundering self assessment tool
Factsheet - Financial sanctions
One-minute guide - Security of customer data
One-minute guide - Anti-money laundering