2022 has been a tumultuous year, fraught with political and economic instability. Since the 2016 referendum on the UK leaving the European Union (Brexit), the British economy entered a period of economic downturn, which was further exacerbated by the outbreak of the COVID- 19 pandemic in 2020, followed in 2022 by national political instability (which featured frequent changes of Prime Ministers and the Government’s loss of fiscal credibility within the Markets). This, coupled with the unprecedented war in Ukraine, has plunged the country into a cost-of-living crisis. With soaring energy prices and increased inflation, the UK is entering into a recession.
Alongside this challenging national environment, is a worsening of international relations with countries such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Iran and China, all of which have been identified as posing increasing threats to the United Kingdom (UK). It is this unprecedented political landscape which has undoubtedly underpinned the myriad of regulatory changes we have seen throughout last year, specifically in the areas of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF), Anti-Proliferation Financing (APF), Sanctions Evasion (Sanctions) and Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC). Hence, it is crucial for regulated firms to strengthen their financial crime controls as they navigate in this ever-evolving regulatory arena.