"Transformation of Suspicious Activity Reporting to Combat Financial and Cyber Crime"
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) are an important part of how the UK combats money laundering criminality. The Drug Trafficking Offences Act established these in 1986, and they have evolved through the 2002 Proceeds of Crime Act and the 2019 Money Laundering Regulations. Organizations could file a SAR with the National Crime Agency if they believe they are being used in a money laundering scheme. However, the effectiveness of SARs has been called into question over the years. Its flaws include an ineffective SARs database, poor monitoring of enforcement outcomes, insufficient training, and a lack of government support for the scheme. It has been suggested that law enforcement agencies underuse SARs, and that law enforcement agencies continue to have poor management information on how SARs are used. It has been suggested that law enforcement agencies underuse SARs, and that law enforcement agencies continue to have poor management information on how SARs are used. In order to address this concern, a multidisciplinary team of UWE Bristol researchers is collaborating with Cardiff University and the University of Reading to overcome the weaknesses of the UK Suspicious Activity Reporting scheme. The team includes expertise in cybersecurity, law, and finances. They will investigate how Natural Language Processing (NLP) can help with the creation of SARs, as well as the verification of information presented and the identification of additional supporting information, using Synalogik Innovations' SCOUT platform. This article continues to discuss the UK project on transforming SARs to fight cyber and financial crime.