The UK Treasury is asking banks, lawyers and other City firms to submit positive case studies showing how they have blocked dirty money, as ministers try to convince the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that Britain's anti-money-laundering controls have improved. The push follows a damning 2018 FATF assessment that helped cement London's reputation as a hub for illicit finance, and comes as the government prepares evidence ahead of a formal FATF review, with new threats such as AI-driven investment fraud and cryptocurrency-enabled laundering adding to the pressure.

Firms are being asked for examples from 2022 onwards of cases where they turned away high-risk clients, spotted red flags that changed their approach to customers, or made interventions that led to prosecutions. The evidence must be submitted before the UK's own evidence packet goes to FATF in October, ahead of an on-the-ground assessment visit next summer, with the full mutual evaluation due in 2027. The scale of the challenge is significant: the National Crime Agency estimates £100bn is laundered through the UK annually, the legal sector has been rated "high risk" every year since 2017, and Moody's has warned FATF examiners will scrutinise how much this risk is genuinely being reduced despite heavy spending on supervision.