Westminster Legal Policy Forum

Morning, Wednesday, 16^th December 2026

Online

This conference will examine next steps for tackling fraud and financial crime in the UK. Delegates will assess the progress of policy implementation alongside implications of new responsibilities, including the respective roles of public authorities and industry. They will look at how new measures are operating in practice, the development of approaches to prevention and disruption, and where further intervention or adjustment may be needed as fraud methods and enabling technologies develop.

It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to consider the working of the Fraud Strategy 2026-2029, alongside the new Anti-money laundering and asset recovery strategy 2026-2029, recent changes to corporate transparency and AML requirements, and the developing institutional framework for prevention, supervision and enforcement. Areas for consideration include the practical implications for organisations and sectors, the operation of data and intelligence exchange, and where further clarity or adjustment may be needed across prevention, supervision and enforcement.

Attendees will also discuss how responsibility for preventing fraud should be shared across financial services, technology and telecommunications providers, law enforcement, regulators and consumers, including the scope for earlier intervention and more effective use of data and intelligence. Further issues will include the incentives for investment in prevention and the respective roles of regulatory, voluntary and industry-led action.

The agenda will assess practical implications for businesses and other organisations as new requirements become established, including what proportionate and effective compliance looks like, the scope for more risk-based approaches and the balance between procedural requirements and demonstrable outcomes. The programme will also consider priorities for victim reporting, reimbursement, asset recovery and public confidence.

Corporate transparency, liability & enforcement
Attendees will consider the practical impact of recent changes to corporate liability and transparency, together with developing approaches to enforcement and regulatory intervention. This will include the early operation of the failure to prevent fraud offence, and Companies House identity verification, alongside the developing enforcement role of the Insolvency Service and wider questions around capability, proportionality and impact.

Areas for discussion include:

• corporate liability: early experience of the failure to prevent fraud offence - reasonable fraud prevention procedures - implications for board-level oversight and organisational accountability
• Companies House reform:
  
  • early impact of mandatory identity verification for directors and persons with significant control as the transition period completes
  • strengthening register integrity - disrupting misuse of corporate structures
• enforcement expectations:
  
  • developing approaches across the FCA, SFO and other enforcement bodies - clarity and proportionality for organisations
  • lessons emerging from investigations and regulatory interventions
• Insolvency Service: implementation of the Investigation and Enforcement Strategy 2026-2031 - tackling economic crime facilitated through companies - links with wider enforcement activity
• enforcement capability: investigative capacity, specialist expertise and access to timely intelligence - matching expanded powers and responsibilities with practical delivery
• assessing impact: effectiveness of recent reform in preventing and disrupting fraud - evidence of changes in corporate behaviour - measuring enforcement, prevention and disruption outcomes

Organisational preparedness, compliance & reporting
The conference will assess how businesses and other organisations are adapting to changing responsibilities, and what proportionate and effective compliance looks like in practice. Delegates will consider early experience of the amended Money Laundering Regulations, the scope for more risk-based approaches, and developing arrangements for internal reporting and whistleblowing.

Areas for discussion include:

• AML reform:
  
  • early experience of the 2026 amendments to the Money Laundering Regulations
  • practical implications of the more risk-based approach to unusually large or complex transactions and high-risk jurisdictions
• risk-based decisions: applying greater discretion while maintaining consistency in customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence - governance and documentation of decision-making
• internal controls: moving beyond procedural compliance - fraud risk assessments, monitoring and testing - demonstrating that controls respond effectively to identified risks
• governance & oversight: board and senior management responsibilities - integrating fraud and financial crime risk into wider governance arrangements - internal accountability
• proportionality: implications of expanding regulatory and criminal liability for organisations of different sizes - capacity and resourcing pressures for SMEs and smaller compliance teams
• whistleblowing:
  
  • operation of HMRC’s strengthened reward arrangements - wider consideration of financial incentives for reporting economic crime
  • interaction with existing reporting and employer frameworks
• reporting safeguards: evidential thresholds - confidentiality and protections for those raising concerns - implications of increased reporting for legal, compliance and investigative teams

Technology, prevention & information sharing
Further sessions will look at how prevention and disruption can keep pace with changing methods of offending, and how technology, data and intelligence can be used more effectively across the public and private sectors.

Areas for discussion include:

• AI-enabled fraud: responding to deepfakes, synthetic identities, impersonation and increasingly targeted social engineering - identifying emerging risks as technology develops
• detection tools:
  
  • use of AI and advanced analytics in real-time detection and risk management
  • data quality, auditability and human oversight - avoiding new weaknesses as systems become more automated
• Online Crime Centre: early operation and priorities for public-private intelligence sharing - coordinated disruption across financial services, telecoms, technology, cyber security and policing
• information sharing: legal, technical and operational barriers to timely data exchange - interoperability and common standards - safeguards and access to intelligence
• online platforms & telecoms:
  
  • measures addressing fraudulent advertising, number spoofing, scam messaging and other services exploited by fraudsters
  • respective roles of regulation, enforcement and industry action
• business capability: access to skills, technology and intelligence - supporting smaller organisations to strengthen prevention and detection without disproportionate cost or complexity
• prevention incentives:
  
  • encouraging earlier intervention before losses occur
  • assessing whether existing regulatory, commercial and voluntary measures are driving sufficient investment in prevention

Victim support, recovery & public confidence
The impact of changes to reporting, reimbursement and support will also be considered, including implications for recovery, repeat victimisation and confidence in the wider response.

Areas for discussion include:

• Report Fraud: early operation of the new service - accessibility and confidence in reporting - use of reporting data to support intelligence, prevention and victim support
• victim support:
  
  • consistency and quality of support across organisations and regions - preparations for the Fraud Victims Charter planned for 2027
  • support for those at heightened risk of repeat victimisation
• APP reimbursement:
  
  • experience of the mandatory reimbursement regime - interaction with prevention and fraud detection
  • incentives for payment providers and other organisations involved in the fraud chain
• responsibility for losses: respective roles of financial services, technology and telecoms providers and consumers - implications for investment in upstream prevention
• recovery outcomes: practical barriers to recovering losses and assets - links between reimbursement, investigation and enforcement - access to information and support following fraud
• public confidence: factors affecting whether victims report fraud - awareness of available support routes - assessing the impact of reform on confidence in the wider response

Anti-money laundering, asset recovery & international cooperation
Attendees will consider priorities arising from the new anti-money laundering and asset recovery strategy, including approaches to strengthening recovery of criminal proceeds, cross-border cooperation and the effectiveness of the wider framework for preventing and disrupting economic crime.

Areas for discussion include:

• AML strategy: implementation of the Anti-money laundering and asset recovery strategy 2026-2029 - strengthening prevention, enforcement and recovery - implications across different sectors
• asset recovery: strengthening confiscation and recovery of criminal proceeds - use of civil and criminal powers - investigative capability and cooperation between agencies
• international cooperation: cross-border intelligence exchange, investigations and disruption - cooperation with overseas authorities and industry - responding to networks operating across jurisdictions
• FATF evaluation: preparations for the UK’s next mutual evaluation - implications of changes to the AML, supervisory and asset recovery framework - areas likely to require further attention

Policing, supervision & institutional reform
Further discussion will examine the developing allocation of responsibilities across policing, supervision and enforcement, including implications of proposed institutional changes for specialist capability, continuity and coordination.

Areas for discussion include:

• AML supervision: preparations for the FCA’s future role supervising professional services - managing transition from existing arrangements - consistency, proportionality and continuity
• policing reform:
  
  • proposed transfer of responsibility for fraud, economic crime and cyber crime to the National Police Service
  • implications for national leadership and specialist capability - relationships with local policing
• institutional transition: maintaining clear responsibilities and effective working relationships as policing and supervisory arrangements change - avoiding gaps, duplication or loss of capability
• system coordination: interaction between law enforcement, regulators, government and industry - maintaining continuity through structural change - clarity of roles and accountability

All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include officials from the HM Revenue and Customs; HM Treasury; National Audit Office; and Ofcom.