Speech by Nikhil Rathi, FCA chief executive at the FCA’s financial crime conference. A new threat landscapeFinancial crime is changing – fast.It’s more technologically enabled. More organised than ever before. And moving at speed.Which is why the fight against financial crime sits at the heart of our 5-year strategy.But it’s not just the volume that’s changed; it’s who is behind it.Organised criminal groups running professional networks that operate across borders.Take investment fraud.A personal tragedy, and one many of us here today have seen touch friends or family.Leaving them grappling with an average loss of over £25,000 – a life-changing amount of money, that they’ve likely spent decades saving.But they’re losing more than money: confidence, security and, too often, their sense of self.However, zoom out and you’ll find something even more troubling.Farms of people, thousands of miles away, working to target as many people as possible.And proceeds that flow back into criminal enterprises funding more heinous crimes. The kind with a human cost, both here and abroad.These groups are blending fraud, money laundering, sanctions evasion and cyber?enabled crime.Putting at risk trust in the whole financial system, even economic growth. Funds that could be productively invested, diverted instead into criminal coffers.Our response has to be just as broad and adaptable.Because the reality is that our financial system is part of that supply chain – exploited by criminals moving dirty money through complex layers designed to stay hidden.And, increasingly, there are links with actors connected to some states who are deliberately weakening trust in our institutions and exploiting openness in our systems.Using their ill-gotten gains to fund other illegal and destabilising activity – whether on the streets of Khartoum or Carlisle – while staying below the radar.The damage reverberates far beyond a single victim.It destabilises our society – eroding trust in our institutions, financial system and each other.That’s the scale of what we’re dealing with.I’ve said before that separating financial services from national security is outdated and dangerous.This is a question of fundamental economic and national security.No single organisation can see that threat clearly – or disrupt it effectively – alone.That’s why we’re all here today.Financial services. Technology and infrastructure providers. Regulators. Government. Law enforcement. Consumer groups.As a collective, we have a question to face honestly:Are the ways we’ve traditionally tackled financial crime still fit for the environment we are now operating in?
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What is FCA? We protect people by helping them understand some of the most common risks they might come across when using financial services.
We publish warnings about firms that are doing business without our authorisation, and we encourage consumers to report scams, potential harm or bad conduct to us.
Our ScamSmart campaign targets individuals who are most at risk of investment fraud and pension scams. Our InvestSmart campaign also warns newer investors about the risks of investing online.
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