The resounding victory Thursday of Britain's Conservative Party will mean modest tweaks rather than sharp changes to the U.K.'s fight against financial crime in the coming five years, say analysts.
U.K. elections in May aren't likely to spare British territories from implementing new corporate transparency measures, but the results could determine how soon and how far those steps are taken.
The U.K.'s national economic crime unit will launch a new assault on money laundering in what it sees as an essential fight to protect the country's reputation as a financial center, a top official in the agency said, in an interview with ACAMS moneylaundering.com.
The United Kingdom Tuesday outlined how it might soon get tougher on tax cheats through revised penalties and clearer standards for criminal prosecutions when individuals are aided by commercial advisors.
British officials will soon review the promises and risks of alternative payment systems, including virtual currencies, as part of a broad initiative to promote advances in financial technology.
European Union nations may still have to name the owners of corporations but they won't necessarily do so publicly, under the economic bloc's latest iteration of an anti-money laundering proposal.
Even with the parliamentary passage of the EU's anti-money laundering directive last month, tough debates lie ahead for the economic bloc's plans to better identify financial criminals, say observers.
The Financial Action Task Force is weighing whether to ask jurisdictions to loosen their privacy laws and require companies to retain data on their owners, among other changes to the group's standards.