ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND ASSET RECOVERY (AMLAR)

Rating: Compared with FY24/25 Q4, the NISTA/SRO Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) rating decreased to AMBER in FY25/26 Q4. This is primarily due to two changes at portfolio level: • A 5% shortfall in Financial Crime officers in 25/26, resulting in two milestones moving into 26/27. The remaining officers will now be recruited across Q1-Q2 of 26/27. • A delay to the delivery of the new crypto storage solution, aligned to the end of the existing business as usual (BAU) storage contract. This adjusts the delivery milestone from June to December 2026. These changes do not impact programme cost, and forecast benefit reductions remain within programme tolerance levels. Throughout FY25/26, AMLAR enabled several major operations: • Operation Destabilise - (NCA-led international investigation) disrupting Russian money laundering networks linked to organised crime, drug trafficking and espionage. This led to 84 arrests and £20m seized. • Operation Hawksmoor - resulting in multiple arrests, the seizure of high value vehicles, £60,000 cash, and designer watches. • Operation Machinize - targeting high street crime, money laundering and modern slavery. Outcomes included closure of 10 shops, seizure of £40,000 cash, 200,000 cigarettes, 7,000 tobacco packs, 8,000 illegal vapes, and 2 vehicles. In FY25/26, the programme has delivered an additional £60m in criminal asset recovery, with an additional £290m restrained but not yet recovered, exceeding yearly benefit targets. It has also delivered 758 money laundering disruptions against a target of 404.

Schedule: Compared with FY24/25 Q4, the project end date has moved from 31/03/2026 to 30/09/2027. This change reflects a rebaseline of the programme to align with the decommissioning of the BAU Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD). JARD decommissioning is a critical dependency for the delivery of the new Asset Recovery IT Service. Decommissioning is scheduled to complete by September 2027, which drives the extension of the programme timeline.

Cost: Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the project's departmentally agreed Whole Life Cost at 25/26-Q4 (measured in £m) decreased from last year's £414.2m to £401.7m. This is primarily due to the following factors: reduced FY 24/25 Economic Crime Levy receipts which impacted the programme’s ability to grow in line with original recruitment delivery plans. Civil Service headcount cap restrictions also impacted the national Crime Agencies ability to grow as planned, which resulted in the deferral of circa 70 resources to other delivery partner areas at a reduced cost per full time equivalent resource.

Source: NISTA Major Projects Annual Report 2025-26 (data)

Rating: Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the Infrastructure Project Authority's Delivery Confidence Assessment rating at 24/25-Q4 increased from AMBER to GREEN. This is primarily due to the following factors‚ Recruitment targets were met with 290 Financial Crime officers now in post. The programme exceeded benefit targets through the recovery of £60m in criminal assets, with a further £100m seized. The programme also enabled over 400 money laundering disruptions. AMLAR enabled Operation Destabilise, a major international investigation led by the National Crime Agency which disrupted Russian money laundering networks linked to organised crime, drug trafficking and espionage activities. This operation resulted in 84 arrests and over £20 million seized. AMLAR also enabled Operation Hawksmoor where several arrests were made, as well as high-value cars, £60,000 cash and designer watches were seized.

Schedule: Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the project's end-date at 24/25-Q4 remained at 31/03/2026. This is primarily due to the following factors‚ All milestones completed to time and quality. 3-year delivery cycle completes at the end of FY25/26, with an assumption that the programme will then transition into business as usual (BAU).

Cost: Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the project's departmentally agreed Whole Life Cost at 24/25-Q4 (measured in £m) decreased from 429 to 414. This is primarily due to the following factors‚ Reduced Economic Crime Levy receipts for FY24/25. Allocations as per the Business Case have been confirmed by HMT for FY25/26.

Source: NISTA Annual Report 2024-25 (data)

Rating: The Senior Responsible Owner's Delivery Confidence Assessment rating at 23/24-Q4 is Amber. This is primarily due to the following factors. The programme delivery confidence is rated at Amber due to a reduction in Economic Crime Levy receipts for FY24/25 and restrictions placed across the Civil Service headcount, affecting several partner organisations, which is likely to impact delivery milestones and benefit realisation timeframes, with some scope deferred to FY25/26. The programme is refining the benefits model in alignment with an InvestCo appearance in July 2024.

Schedule: The project's end-date at 23/24-Q4 is 2026-03-31. This is primarily due to the following factors. Any impacts of Economic Crime Levy receipts provided by HMT for FY24/25 will be addressed in FY25/26. Project end-date is not expected to change.

Cost: The project's departmental-agree Whole Life Cost at 23/24-Q4 is 429m. This is primarily due to the following factors. The Whole Life Cost of the programme has not changed and is fully funded by Economic Crime Levy receipts from HMT.

Source: IPA Annual Report 2023-24 (data)