Economic crime involving terrorists, drug dealers and gangsters costing UK £100bn a year, Yorkshire MP warns

Yorkshire MP Kevin Hollinrake has called on the Government to do more to tackle the annual £100bn cost of economic crime to the taxpayer following the dramatic resignation of Treasury minister Lord Agnew over the issue earlier this week.

Lord Agnew of Oulton quit the Government at the despatch box on Monday over the “schoolboy” handling of fraudulent Covid business loans. Parliament has heard the Treasury expects to write off about £4.3bn of Covid-19 loans, with money having gone to “fraudsters”.

The Treasury has since disputed this figure.

Mr Hollinrake said he was particularly concerned to hear future legislation on economic crime may be delayed.

Kevin Hollinrake says more needs to be done to tackle economic crime.Kevin Hollinrake says more needs to be done to tackle economic crime.
Kevin Hollinrake says more needs to be done to tackle economic crime.
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Asking an Urgent Question in Parliament on the matter yesterday, the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton said: “Economic crime costs the people of this country £100bn per annum, according to the National Crime Agency.

“The Government has repeatedly committed to legislate to give our agencies the tools they need to tackle this problem.

“It was very concerning to hear from Lord Agnew, who recently resigned from his role as Minister responsible for countering fraud, that a decision has been made to drop the Economic Crime Bill from the legislation due in the next parliamentary session.”

Business Minister Paul Scully would not directly confirm whether the Government will be scrapping plans for a new law.

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He said: “I am sure he understands I am not going to speculate on the content of any future Queen’s Speech. That is where the Government will be setting out its legislative agenda for the next parliamentary session.

“However, I can confirm the Government is committed to tackling economic crime.”

Mr Scully listed a series of actions the Government had taken on economic crime, including setting up a national economic crime centre to co-ordinate police response.

Mr Hollinrake said effective action was vital.

“This is not a notional white collar offence, it affects real people in very tangible ways. Terrorists and drug dealers depend on it to launder and legitimise their money through UK banks, companies and properties.

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“Up to 50 per cent of monies flowing through Russian laundromats often used for tax avoidance, stolen public funds and to launder monies derived from organised crime flow through UK shell companies.

“UK corporate structures were involved in arms deals which breached sanctions in the Sudan.”

He added: “Around £5bn of taxpayers’ money as an estimate in the form of bounce back loans has been taken fraudulently because some banks have not applied the most basic of checks.”

Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds added that Lord Agnew’s resignation had been “alarming”.

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“These are very serious allegations for a serving minister to make. I’m worried by what the minister has just had to say about the economic crime Bill.”

He asked if the Government will still legislate for a register of beneficial ownership of property in the UK, to prevent the “shortcomings in the unexplained wealth order regime”, and if it will still reform Companies House, saying if it was “more rigorously checked and policed there would not have been as many fraudulent companies”.

Mr Scully said: “Our appetite for tackling economic crime remains undiminished, indeed as it does with Companies House reform as well, which has been well trailed and well considered, and we will continue to work in this area.

“What I can’t do is pre-empt what Her Majesty will say in the Queen’s Speech.”

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