UK Government Publishes National Assessment on Proliferation Risk

The UK Government has published its national assessment of proliferation financing (PF) risk, as undertaken in its commitments contained in the Economic Crime Plan 2019. The completion of the national risk assessment is a welcome development in efforts to counter sanctions evasion and the financing of weapons of mass destruction in the UK.

The risk assessment cites RUSI's considerable research into counter-proliferation financing, cryptocurrencies and North Korean sanctions evasion activity. RUSI has been able to inform the UK government’s understanding of the country’s exposure to proliferation financing risk.

RUSI's cited work includes the ‘Guide to Conducting a National Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment’, ‘Closing the Crypto Gap: Guidance for Countering North Korean Cryptocurrency Activity in Southeast Asia’ and a number of investigations on North Korean sanctions evasion by Project Sandstone.

Assessing national proliferation financing risk exposure is the first step in mitigating this risk; in October 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the international standard-setter on efforts to counter financial crime – included national and institutional PF risk assessments within its standards.

The UK is one of a small but growing number of countries to have conducted a national PF risk assessment to date; RUSI hopes that the UK’s proliferation financing risk assessment can help inform the efforts of other states preparing to undertake their own. The Institute looks forward to offering our support to future government efforts on counter proliferation financing.