In April 2025, the Joffe Trust held a well attended briefing for donors on fixing the UK’s dirty money problem. Participants heard from expert speakers:

  • Joe Powell MP, Chair of the APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax
  • Rachel Davies, Transparency International UK
  • Peter Geoghegan, Democracy for Sale

The discussion revolved around four points:

1. It is more important than ever to fix the UK’s dirty money problem.

The UK is officially estimated to handle hundreds of billions of pounds of dirty money, the proceeds of crime and corruption from around the world. This drives autocracy, corruption and inequality. It has a direct impact on ordinary people, draining government budgets and undermining the rule of law. The US has stepped back from tackling the problem, so the UK has a greater obligation to step forwards.

2. A well established civil society coalition is making real progress.

The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition has an impressive civil society group focused on this issue. They helped shape the government’s response to the invasion of Ukraine by tackling dirty money, as well as two subsequent ground-breaking Economic Crime Acts. They continue to work across government and recently published ambitious and realistic objectives for 2025 – 2029. Multi-year support from donors is crucial for enabling their work.

3. There are major opportunities with the current UK government.

The Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has identified fighting kleptocracy as a personal campaign. The new government is taking forward key reforms. There is vigorous cross party support for the issue through the APPG. But there is a crowded political agenda and much more to do, for instance to close secrecy loopholes, boost law enforcement and regulate the professions. The success of current initiatives cannot be taken for granted; we need to keep the pressure up.

4. Fixing dirty money is central for work on political integrity and climate change.

Dark money uses the same mechanisms to buy political influence, for instance to curb climate ambition, deregulate industries and consolidate power. The US vividly demonstrates the risks. There are also major corruption risks associated with large scale climate finance and carbon credit markets. Progress on these great challenges of our times depends on tackling the scourge of dirty money.

The coalition needs additional funding to continue its crucial work.

We would be delighted to discuss connections to your priorities and how funders can get involved. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at the Joffe Trust.