Glossary · UK
What is Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy?
An annual charge on UK businesses regulated for anti-money laundering purposes, banded by their UK revenue, that helps fund government action against economic crime such as money laundering and fraud.
Full Definition
The Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy is an annual charge introduced under the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy Act 2022, payable by businesses that are supervised for anti-money laundering purposes under the Money Laundering Regulations -- a group that includes banks, building societies, other financial services firms, accountants, tax advisers, legal professionals, estate agents and letting agents, and casinos, among others. Unlike most UK taxes, the levy is not calculated as a percentage of profit or turnover; instead, businesses are placed into one of four size bands based on their UK revenue for the relevant financial year -- small, medium, large and very large -- and each band pays a fixed flat fee, with the very large band (broadly, UK revenue above £1 billion) paying substantially more than the smaller bands. The fee for the very large band was significantly increased, from £250,000 to £500,000, reflecting the government's stated intention that the largest, highest-risk regulated firms should bear a bigger share of the cost of tackling economic crime. The levy is collected by whichever body already supervises the business for anti-money laundering purposes -- HMRC, the Financial Conduct Authority, or one of the accountancy or legal sector professional body supervisors -- rather than through a single central collection mechanism, and revenue raised is intended to help fund the government's wider economic crime reform programme, including improvements to Companies House verification and enforcement activity against money laundering, fraud and sanctions evasion.