Seven banks share data with UK law enforcement in 'dirty money' crackdown
Corrects paraphrased speech in paragraph 7 to make clear that COSMIC is led by the local regulator, not law enforcement.
Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest among banks sharing data with NCA
Project to curb organised crime, fraud, money laundering
First such programme worldwide on this scale, NCA says
Economic crime estimated to cost UK up to $450 bln per year
By Kirstin Ridley and Sinead Cruise
LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) -Barclays BARC.L, NatWest and Lloyds are among seven banks to share customer data with the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the largest project of its kind worldwide to tackle criminal gangs, money laundering and "dirty money" flowing through the country.
Reuters revealed one year ago that more than six banks, including NatWest and Lloyds LLOY.L, were part of trials with law enforcement and government agencies that involved sharing intelligence on client accounts which raised concerns about economic crime that posed a threat to Britain.
The NCA, a top investigator, says the project went live in May, included voluntary data sharing deals with Santander SAN.MC, TSB SABE.MC, Metro Bank MTRO.L and Starling Bank, and had already identified eight new crime networks that might be exploiting the financial system.
Britain has ramped up efforts to tackle economic crime, which lawmakers say costs the economy up to around 350 billion pounds ($452 billion) each year, after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine shone a spotlight on how kleptocrats and criminals used the country as a haven to launder, hide and spend "dirty money".
Adrian Searle, director of the NCA's National Economic Crime Centre, told Reuters that three crime networks had been passed to the NCA's intelligence division for further investigation. The project has also uncovered new intelligence linked to 10 of the agency's biggest investigations. He did not divulge details.
"The fundamental purpose is to bring together the collective efforts of law enforcement, government, regulators and the private sector to combat economic crime," Searle said.
Singapore launched a digital customer data sharing platform known as COSMIC (Collaborative Sharing of Money Laundering/Terrorist Financing Information and Cases) with six banks in April. But this was led by the local regulator, not law enforcement, Searle said.
DATA PROTECTION
Under the programme that is due to run until October, bank staff are seconded to the NCA to form a team of between 15 to 20 intelligence officers, data scientists and analysts to probe movement of money suggestive of criminal behaviour - and ensure legitimate customers are left alone.
Banks have long been wary of sharing customer data for fear of falling foul of European data protection and privacy laws, which could trigger litigation by customers whose accounts have been locked pending investigations.
But the NCA and the banks insist they only share account data with "multiple clear indicators of economic crime" on customers, people or businesses that meet a set of markers about potential criminal behaviour. Banks' lawyers have also ensured all data sharing meets an acceptable risk.
"We are deeply conscious of the issues around data privacy," one senior banking executive involved in the trial said.
"It's also clear that our terms and conditions as banks enable us to share the information without notification to the customer because this is all ultimately to do with fulfilling our legal obligations to help detect crime and prevent financial harm," he added.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulator is observing the project. Without this, there would have been less appetite for the pilot, the banker said.
The initiative builds on a first pilot between the NCA, NatWest and Lloyds between October 2021 and February 2022. It tested the practicality and benefit of fusing bank and crime data to better identify and disrupt economic crime - and led to one arrest and charge.
The volume of accounts identified, however, represents a "very small fraction" of the British total, the NCA says.
The ultimate goal is that such trials will pave the way for the use of data for real-time insight to prevent crime.
"But it's a long way to go before we get there," Searle said.
($1 = 0.7752 pounds)
Reporting by Kirstin Ridley and Sinead Cruise; Editing by Paul Simao
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
