JMLIT marks 10 years

Image copyright NCA

Piloted in 2015, JMLIT was an innovative project co-developed by the National Crime Agency (NCA), Home Office, City of London Police, UK Finance and a small number of financial institutions. It was designed to establish an active partnership between government and industry.

The JMLIT pilot was considered remarkably forward-thinking – no comparative initiative existed in any equivalent country, or against any other serious and organised crime type. It introduced a novel approach to cross-sector partnership in which the public and private sector could exchange, analyse and disseminate information and intelligence to detect, prevent and disrupt economic crime, on a scale not previously attempted.

In the decade following the launch of JMLIT, the initiative has evolved and expanded exponentially, far exceeding its initial objective of improving the system response against money laundering. JMLIT has become a multifaceted Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, growing in membership from 12 to over 200 partner organisations from a range of industries: domestic and international banks, financial services, investment firms, telecommunications, tech, payments processors, virtual asset service providers and many others. These partners work alongside law enforcement, regulators and other public sector bodies, targeting the full range of economic crime threats: money laundering, fraud, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, tax crime, as well as cross-cutting priorities such as organised immigration crime, modern slavery and sexual exploitation.

Over the last 10 years, the UK’s PPP has been at the forefront of the joint public-private response to these threats, which have become increasingly complex due to advancements in technology and online connectivity.

In 2023, the JMLIT Operations group supported an investigation which involved the FBI and US Secret Service, and focused on some of the world’s most prolific cybercriminals. The criminals investigated were responsible for the introduction of ‘Reveton’, the first ransomware-as-a-service business model, which allowed lower skilled offenders to carry out cybercrime by planting malware in adverts placed on legitimate websites.

Working with PPP, the National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU) were able to identify 11 new subjects and a new bank account used by the criminal network, providing valuable intelligence to the investigation. This led to the identification of several suspected real-world identities of the criminals involved, including Belarusian Maksim Silnikau. Silnikau was arrested in Spain in 2023 and extradited to the US.

Since 2015, our partnership team has supported over 1,200 operations, provided out-of-hours support for UK critical incidents, identified over 10,000 accounts operating for criminal purposes and provided intelligence directly leading to the arrests of over 419 individuals and the seizure and restraint of over 250 million pounds of criminal assets. PPP has also supported the publication of over 100 alerts to the wider sector, helping to develop collective understanding of emerging threats and improve industry methodologies against them.

Data Fusion
One of the cornerstones of our Public Private Partnership model is its ability to respond to a changing landscape and find new ways to approach data sharing with partners to address emerging and challenging threats.

In July 2024, a major new data initiative was launched between the banking sector and the NCA. The Data Fusion pilot trialled an unprecedented public-private Joint Analytical Team, which brought together law enforcement officers, financial crime investigators and data scientists from participant banks. The team shared and analysed account information and transaction data.

The initiative enhanced the sharing of financial intelligence, enabling the delivery of over 300 intelligence products across UK law enforcement teams to support the disruption of organised crime group activity. The project also improved collective understanding of the threat from serious and organised crime, enabling banking sector partners to strengthen internal controls and protect their organisations.

Data Fusion Case Study: Western Balkans Organised Crime Groups
During the pilot, the Joint Analytical Team developed financial intelligence linked to a Western Balkans Organised Crime Group, suspected of international cash-based money laundering. This was one of several investigations supported by the group.

The intelligence accelerated the investigations progress by identifying the relevant suspects and enabling a new charge. As a result of the support provided, the case team arrested four suspects on suspicion of money laundering, two of which have been bailed and two released under investigation. The intelligence received was detailed enough to enable the case team to put forward a separate charge to the Crown Prosecution Service relating to mortgage fraud.

Following the success of the pilot, Data Fusion has become a permanent operational capability, able to deliver benefits across the public-private economic crime system. This includes the implementation of a permanent public-private Joint Analytical Team, housed within the NCA.

The Data Fusion permanent capability was launched at our recent Public Private Partnership event, alongside the introduction of new economic crime priorities by the NCA and FCA. The event celebrated the 10-Year Anniversary of our partnerships and was attended by over 200 key industry partners and stakeholders.

NCA and FCA priorities to combat biggest economic crime threats
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published nine economic crime priorities for the UK’s regulated sector.

The priorities include combatting cash-based money-laundering, the exploitation of money mules and fraud associated with overseas jurisdictions. They are available here.