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RUSI’s CFS Releases Policy Brief on Tackling Illicit Finance in the UK

09 May 2025

RUSI’s CFS Releases Policy Brief on Tackling Illicit Finance in the UK

The Centre for Finance and Security (CFS) at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) released a policy brief on strengthening the UK’s response to illicit finance.

 

The brief comes as the UK Government’s upcoming Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC) Strategy, Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), and 3rd Economic Crime Plan (ECP) all present key opportunities to drive strategic change in the approach to combatting illicit finance.

Key recommendations from the brief include:

➡️ Appointing a cross-departmental minister with a comprehensive mandate focussed on tackling illicit finance;

➡️ Conducting a review of the Economic Crime Strategic Board (ECSB) participation and transparency to improve the system of economic crime governance;

➡️ Bolstering the capacity for government to coordinate cross-cutting policy focussed on illicit finance;

➡️ Reforming the mechanism of funding to promote interdepartmental collaboration and reduce siloed working;

➡️ Driving cultural change in tackling illicit finance to strengthen trust and relationships between key stakeholders; and

➡️ Aligning strategic planning, resourcing, and delivery to mitigate the structural constraints currently hampering the illicit finance agenda.

✅ Firms engaging with government to shape the illicit finance agenda should review the brief, incorporating the recommendations where appropriate to drive systemic improvement in the legislative and regulatory framework.
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