The government has launched a taskforce to tackle economic crime and protect billions of pounds a year.
Home secretary Sajid Javid and chancellor Philip Hammond will jointly chair the taskforce.
The government has set aside £3.5m for 2019 to 2020 to support work to reform the suspicious activity reports regime (SARs).
A new economic crime strategic board, made up of chief executives of banks as well as senior representatives from the regulators and other bodies, will meet twice a year and set priorities and further resources.
SARs are the mechanism used by members of the regulated sectors, including the banking, accountancy, legal and property sectors to flag up suspicions about potential money laundering and terrorist financing to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
The Home Office and regulators are currently designing a new system to make them more efficient and effective after numbers received had risen by about 10 per cent to 463,938 during 2017 to 2018.
The scale of economic crime – which includes fraud, bribery, corruption and money laundering – is estimated to be at least £14.4bn per year.
Home Secretary Mr Javid said: "We need to take action on all fronts to target the corrupt fraudsters who are lining their pockets with dirty money and living luxury lifestyles at the expense of law-abiding citizens.
"The government is already investing millions in the fight against economic crime, but it is crucial we work closely with our financial sector partners to win this battle.
"These criminals threaten the UK’s reputation as a world-leading place to do business and we have a joint responsibility to stop them."
Chancellor Mr Hammond said: "The UK is leading the world in the fight against illicit finance, preventing fraudsters from stealing billions from the public each year.
"We know more can be done which is why the home secretary and I are launching the first ever cross-departmental board to prevent more people from becoming victims of economic crime.
"By bringing together specialists across the public and private sector, we can use the best of our expertise to maintain our status as a global financial centre."
SARs reform is one of the commitments in the government's Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) strategy.
The strategy, launched in November, is backed by government investment of £48m in 2019 and 2020.
Since late 2018 the project has received an additional £1m in funding from the financial sector.
The government is currently discussing with the private sector the best way to ensure the strategy has the funding it needs.
Bob Wigley, chairman of UK Finance, said: "We want to ensure the UK is the safest and most transparent financial centre in the world.
"Banks already spend over £5bn a year fighting economic crime, but the private sector can't tackle it alone.
"That is why the finance industry works closely with law enforcement and government agencies to stop the threat and protect customers. The new economic crime strategic board will strengthen these vital partnerships.
"As part of this, it is vital that we have the best anti-money laundering reporting system possible.
"The industry is committed to supporting the government in reforming the existing regime and UK Finance is currently hosting a team of industry and Home Office experts to achieve just that."
Michael Harris, director of financial crime compliance and reputational risk at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said the initiative was a sign the government took money laundering seriously.
He said: "The UK is a leader in the creation of public-private partnerships, in recent years we have seen a significant increase in engagement across both the public and private sectors with the creation of JMLIT, OPBAS and the NECC.
"Yet, the problem of illicit funds is as prevalent as ever.
"To ensure success this new taskforce needs to effectively use all the powers at its disposal; harnessing technology, better information sharing processes as well as improved data and intelligence gathering.
"To shake the UK of its dirty money reputation we need to leave no stone unturned or place for criminals to hide - something we can only achieve by working together through initiatives such as this."
carmen.reichman@ft.com
