The new strategy sets the direction for the UK’s anti-money laundering and asset recovery system over the next three years. Its priorities include strengthening financial intelligence, deploying new technologies, expanding public-private and international cooperation, and increasing law enforcement capacity to identify, freeze and recover criminal assets.
More than £500 million is expected to be invested in delivering these measures over three years through the Economic Crime Levy*. In addition, 500 new officers and staff are expected to be recruited across the police, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The Government also intends to strengthen national financial intelligence capabilities and public-private cooperation in identifying illicit financial flows.
The publication of the strategy was accompanied by new asset recovery statistics from the UK Home Office. In the 2025/26 financial year, £345.3 million in criminal assets was recovered in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – 20% more than in the previous year. Access to a further £1.1 billion in criminal assets was denied through restraint, seizure and freezing – an increase of 30%. A total of £26.1 million in compensation was paid to victims from recovered proceeds of crime.
The use of civil asset recovery powers also increased significantly. Receipts from bank account forfeitures rose from £65 million to £100.4 million, while £38.5 million was recovered through civil recovery orders – more than five times the amount recovered in the previous year. The value of property subject to Unexplained Wealth Orders increased from £1.8 million to £451.5 million. Such orders are investigatory powers and do not in themselves mean that the assets concerned will subsequently be recovered.
The statistics also provide separate data on assets linked to grand corruption involving senior public officials. In the 2025/26 financial year, access to £335.4 million in such assets was denied through civil powers – the highest figure recorded over the six-year reporting period. A further £64.2 million was frozen or restrained through criminal proceedings. By contrast, only £3.4 million was ultimately recovered during the year. The Home Office notes that grand corruption figures can fluctuate significantly because they are driven by a small number of particularly high-value and complex cases.
In its publication on the new strategy and statistics, anti-corruption organisation Spotlight on Corruption links the increase in asset recovery to greater investment in the system and highlights the growing use of civil recovery powers. At the same time, the organisation notes that growth in assets permanently recovered continues to lag significantly behind the value of assets that are frozen or otherwise denied to their suspected owners.
Spotlight also draws attention to the reinvestment of recovered assets in further law enforcement activity. According to the organisation, while total asset recovery increased by 20%, the amount recycled back into law enforcement through the relevant incentivisation scheme rose by only 3%. Spotlight therefore proposes establishing a dedicated Economic Crime Fighting Fund that would pool receipts generated through asset recovery and financial penalties to provide sustainable, long-term funding for efforts to tackle illicit finance.
*The Economic Crime Levy (ECL) is a levy charged in the UK on entities subject to anti-money laundering regulations whose annual UK revenue exceeds £10.2 million. It was introduced to provide long-term funding for measures to tackle economic crime.