BCL partner, John Binns comments on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) results published yesterday by Transparency International UK.
"For AML professionals the TI list is almost too useful, a ready shorthand for risk-assessing customers and deals. This is despite TI's own proper caution in stressing, each year, that it is about perceptions of corruption rather than hard data. The reality is that businesses and individuals are often judged on their associations with a country whose score on this list is low.
This year, it's particularly striking that the UK, which regularly berates other countries for their inadequacies in combatting corruption, has had a few points docked from its score thanks to some high-profile scandals and allegations at or near the top of its political pecking order.
The practical impact of this, in terms of perceived AML risks of UK businesses, is unlikely to be huge -although, especially now, we cannot afford to be complacent about their prospects. Meanwhile though, it does send a big political message for TI to give the UK a taste of its own AML medicine."
John Binns is a specialist in proceeds of crime laws, cannabis regulation, sanctions, and tax investigations. He has extensive experience in financial crime, which also involves bribery and corruption, extradition, Interpol, fraud, market abuse, and the conduct of related civil proceedings. He is a prolific writer and speaker on a variety of topics.
