Brexit means…Will the UK and EU keep aligned on financial crime?

At the end of 2020, the transition period for the UK’s departure from the EU came to an end. Prior to Christmas, the UK and the EU had finalised a trade agreement that included clauses about both parties’ commitment to international financial crime standards.

However, as many observers have pointed out, the trade deal has provided only the ‘bare-bones’ of a shared approach on AML/CTF standards. Neither side, moreover, has recognised the regulatory equivalence of the other’s existing laws and regulations, despite their past grounding in shared EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives (AMLDs).

Despite the positive rhetoric around the deal, there is scope for future divergence between the UK and EU, especially if the UK seeks to gain a commercial advantage over the EU through regulatory reform.

The panel will explore the practical realities of what Brexit means now for compliance teams, both in the UK and EU jurisdictions, and how those teams have coped with uncertainties around due diligence requirements and regulator expectations.

The panel will also look at the prospects for increasing – and decreasing – alignment between the two sides, and strategic approaches compliance teams can take in response.