Context
The Government has introduced an economic crime levy (ECL) to fund the fight against economic crime.
Key points to note
The levy will be collected for the Government by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the FCA and the Gambling Commission and will apply to AML regulated businesses including:
- credit institutions
- financial institutions
- auditors, insolvency practitioners, external accountants, and tax advisers
- independent legal professionals
- trust or company service providers
- estate and lettings agents
- high value dealers, casinos, auction platforms and art market participants
- crypto asset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers
The FCA is responsible for collecting the levy from those firms that sit within its regulated population or are registered with it. Impacted firms (those who were subject to the money laundering regulations between 6th April 2022 and 5th April 2023) will see the new levy appear on invoices from July 2023.
The levy will be paid annually and determined by a firm’s UK revenue. To ensure firms are charged the right amount all impacted firms must submit their data via a new Reg Report (for the FCA, a new FIN074) from 1st April. Those firms registered as Annex 1 financial institutions only will receive letter to report their data.
Next actions
None – for information and awareness.