International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt has today (10 October) announced a new joint initiative with the Foreign Office, to target wildlife traffickers and criminal gangs, tackling the global scourge of the illegal wildlife trade.

The UK aid project will launch investigations, seize assets and train law enforcement in East and Southern African countries and will be the largest known project of its kind to crack down on financial crimes associated with the illegal wildlife trade in the world.

Ms Mordaunt will set out this support at an event with the Duke of Cambridge, where global financial organisations will jointly declare that they “will not knowingly facilitate or tolerate financial flows that are derived from IWT and associated corruption”.

This Wildlife Financial Taskforce will initially comprise of representatives from 30 global banks and financial organisations such as Standard Chartered, HSBC, RBS and City Group, and agencies and regulatory bodies including TRAFFIC and RUSI.

Today’s announcement comes ahead of the landmark Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference being held in London on 11-12 October, the largest conference ever to be held on this issue.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

We can only stop the illegal wildlife trade by targeting the international gangs and criminal networks which essentially drive it.

UK aid is directly supporting efforts to recover illegal assets, disrupt organised crime networks and stop the flow of dirty money so that we can protect endangered and trafficked species and bring those responsible to justice.

By protecting these species, UK aid enables some of the world’s poorest people to benefit from sustainable jobs which depend on the natural world and endangered, wild animals.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

The illegal wildlife trade is driving endangered species to the brink of extinction and robbing communities around the world of vital income. To truly end this crime we need to tackle the corruption which allows the trade to flourish, with cross-border investigations which lead to successful prosecutions.

The UK is funding programmes committed to do just that, helping law enforcement authorities in African countries to trace dirty money back to the criminal syndicates behind the dreadful illegal trade in animals and animal parts. This will help put the criminal kingpins behind the trade behind bars, where they belong.

Participating in the illegal wildlife trade is currently a low risk, high reward crime.

Choking the ability of poachers and traders to move money is an essential component of stopping the trade. The same gangs trafficking wildlife products are likely to move other illegal goods, like drugs and weapons.

This new support is the largest UK aid project to specifically crack down on dirty money enabling the illegal wildlife trade. The support will:

• Drive up the number of investigations and successful prosecutions for corruption, money laundering and wildlife trafficking, by identifying individuals and groups committing the crime; and training law enforcement to conduct investigations.
• Increase the use of sanctions like freezing and seizing assets and visa bans, and encouraging new tactics like investigating money laundering and tax evasion to disrupt criminal networks and target individual bosses – just like Al Capone.
• Improve cooperation of domestic and international law enforcement so that entire criminal networks can be targeted – including police, investigative units, shipping companies and the private sector.
• Support ‘parallel financial investigations’, tracking dirty money to allow an arrest of low level poachers or traffickers to lead to the identification and arrest of high-ranking criminals.

This work will include countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana and Côte d’Ivoire, where recent arrests of wildlife crime offenders provide the opportunity to go after senior crime bosses. Others may be chosen for further action in due course.

What the UK’s support will look like:

• Funding will go to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime to work with law enforcement, mentoring and training authorities in intelligence detection and investigative techniques
• The Egmont Centre will train, share best practice and improve international cooperation by Financial Investigation Units. Its members include the UK’s National Crime Agency and US Department of the Treasury.
• The FCO’s will focus on detecting, investigating and prosecuting corruption relating to IWT – which will have knock on benefits in preventing the negative influence of corruption on international trade (including UK investors and exporters) and critical public services. This will also finance protection for whistle-blowing to encourage the reporting of illegal activity.

The UK funded Global Wildlife Programme has already worked with Kenya’s Parliament to enact the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013, which increased both prison sentences and financial penalties for wildlife-related crimes, and this new initiative will help us secure more results like that.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

• This funding consists of £3million from DFID (this will come from a mix of new money and allocations from pre-existing budgets), and £0.5million from the FCO.
• This money will be allocated equally between The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Egmont Group, through the Egmont Centre of FIU Excellence and Leadership

This new project is the largest sum of money UK aid has committed to specifically tackle money laundering in the IWT and is the largest project of its kind globally. Previous examples of tackling criminal gangs include:

• In Mozambique, four individuals were jailed after being caught selling ivory tusks, their derivatives in handicrafts, and other prohibited animal products in the Central Market of Maputo in early 2018. These offenses were only recently criminalized after a gap in the Law on Protection, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity (Law 16/2014 of 16 June) was closed by Parliament through an amendment passed in 2017.
• In Malawi, the National Parks and Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016 sets tougher penalties for poachers and traffickers of “listed species,” removing judicial discretion to impose monetary penalties for such offenses. Furthermore, for poaching and trafficking offenses related to both “endangered” and “listed” species, the Bill raises the maximum jail term for offenders to 30 years. Making use of the legislation in the Fall of 2017, a Malawian Chief Magistrate handed down an unprecedented total of an effective 36 years of prison time to three people convicted for poaching a black rhinoceros in Liwonde National Park.
• In Namibia, The Nature Conservation Amendment Act No. 3 of 2017 increased fines for rhino and elephant poachers to N$25 million and for illegal hunting of protected species to N$10 million and imprisonment of five to ten years.
• Under the Zambia Wildlife Act of 2015, illegal possession of trophies such as elephant ivory and rhino horn is punishable with sentences of between five and ten years imprisonment with no option of a fine. In July of 2018, The Lusaka High Court upheld the conviction of three foreigners and two nationals who were sentenced to five years of imprisonment with hard labour in December 2017, after finding them guilty of being in illegal possession of 25 pieces of rhino horn. Several other poachers and traffickers have been arrested and convicted under the Wildlife Act of 2015.

Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference 11-12 October

With over 1000 delegates, the IWT Conference will be the largest of its kind ever to be held. 84 countries have confirmed that they will be sending delegations, spanning Africa (26); Americas (14); Asia and Oceania (17); Europe (23) and the Middle East (4).

The conference will focus on three themes:

• Tackling IWT as a serious organised crime: strengthening end to end law enforcement.
• Building coalitions: engaging the private sector, NGOs and academia; harnessing technology and innovation.
• Closing markets for illegally traded wildlife products: building on the Chinese ivory trade ban.

Foreign Office Director for Cyber Policy and National Security Capabilities, Sarah Taylor, has been named a Marie Claire Future Shapers award winner. Ms Taylor has been instrumental internationally in leading work to expose recent Russian cyber aggression and championing the application of international law in cyberspace.

Each year Marie Claire celebrates trailblazing women who are changing the world of work and redefining what it means to be successful in society today. The annual awards honour influential names from the worlds of civil society, fashion, technology, the arts and politics.

Taylor (42) is responsible for the international efforts to protect the UK against the most serious cyber-attacks and overseeing the training of the next generation of cyber diplomats.

She has led Britain’s international response to incidents such as the exposing of the Russian military intelligence service’s reckless cyber attacks on political institutions, businesses, media and sport and the North Korean actors behind the ransomware attack on NHS trusts.

Director for Cyber Policy and National Security Capabilities, Sarah Taylor said:

The challenges and complexities we face in cyberspace are clear as evidenced by Britain’s exposé of the Russian military intelligence service’s orchestrated attacks on our way of life.

The stakes don’t get much higher, but it’s is a privilege to be leading a team that is helping to keep the internet free, open, peaceful and secure.

I’m delighted to have been recognised as a Future Shaper by Marie Claire, and I would really encourage more women to consider careers in security, and cyber in particular.

Not only is it incredibly rewarding but it underpins almost everything we do in the internet age.

Marie Claire Editor-in-chief, Trish Halpin said:

Sarah’s work in cyber security is not only vital to the success of this country, but she is also paving the way for girls and young women to pursue careers in this field through her mentoring work in inner city schools.

Marie Claire is delighted to honour her as a Future Shaper of 2018.

Sarah is the first civil servant to win the award, this year’s winners include Killing Eve star Jodie Comer and authors of Slay In Your Lane: Black Girl Bible, Elizabeth Uviebinené and Yomi Adegoke.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook

• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

With financial technology as the designated theme of the gathering, the Chancellor will herald Britain’s approach to using technology to save customers money, and open up the market to popular new banking apps.

Britain will use its world-leading expertise and influence in finance to shape global views towards new financial technology, Philip Hammond will say at the IMF Annual Meetings in Bali.

He will add that he wants Britain to lead global efforts to design a regulatory approach to cryptoassets and distributed ledger technology.

This will mean people are able to manage their money and be confident it is safe, while allowing the life-changing potential of any new financial technology to flourish.

He will also confirm that the UK’s crypto taskforce will this year publish its report on the UK’s approach to cryptoassets.

Speaking before departing for the Annual Meetings, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:

International cooperation has made our financial system safer, simpler and fairer since 2008.

At home, our banking reforms have protected people and given them more confidence that their money is safe.

The UK’s world-leading expertise means that we are in a unique position to shape the future approach to emerging technology like blockchain so that they benefit businesses, people and the economy.

This week I’ll be making sure British interests are represented at the very top of international finance.

Britain is embracing technology such as Open Banking to give customers more choice managing their money, he will explain at the Annual Meeting.

Open Banking gives consumers a more detailed understanding of their accounts, helping them find new ways of making the most of their money.

While at the IMF, the Chancellor will hold talks with fellow Finance Ministers including US Secretary to the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, where he will reaffirm UK backing for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and its benefit to businesses and shared security.

He will also hold talks with Japanese Finance Minister, Tarō Asō, and the Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Yi Gang.

The Chancellor will urge his colleagues to work together to guard against new and emerging risks to the global financial system, and also to take advantage of the opportunities presented by closer international cooperation, including for financial technology and innovation and boosting global trade.

The government has announced a package of fresh support to assist child victims of modern slavery and fund innovative ways to improve our response to this abhorrent crime.

During a speech to the McCain Institute in London, where she was presented with an award in recognition of her work fighting modern slavery, Prime Minister Theresa May announced a £5 million fund to test new approaches to tackling this crime.

The fund is now open for applications, and is the second round of an £11 million Modern Slavery Innovation Fund designed to build the evidence base around new approaches to tackle modern slavery around the world. So far it has supported projects such as GoodWeave and AllianceHR to tackle modern slavery in supply chains linked to UK companies in India and South Africa, and The Salvation Army and Retrak which are supporting victims in Nigeria, the Philippines and Ethiopia.

Speaking at the event last night Prime Minister Theresa May said:

More than 40 million men, women and children are suffering in modern slavery across the world, with between 10,000 and 13,000 in the UK alone.

That is why – first as Home Secretary and now as Prime Minister – I made tackling modern slavery a personal mission.

The announcement comes as Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins announced to Parliament that the latest Independent Child Trafficking Advocates scheme, run in partnership with Barnardo’s, would officially open next week in the West Midlands. So far, the early adopter sites have helped over 200 children who are potential victims of modern slavery access support and help as they rebuild their lives.

Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate yesterday, Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins said:

It is horrendous that victims of modern slavery have their freedom denied and that is why this government is absolutely determined to do all we can to tackle this crime.

Today, I am delighted to announce that the Independent Child Trafficking Advocates service will be extended to children in the West Midlands next week. These advocates provide invaluable specialist support to child victims of modern slavery.

The minister also announced that the service will be rolled out to help children in the East Midlands from January 2019, and in Croydon from April 2019. Last year, across the three new sites over 480 children were referred into the National Referral Mechanism.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said:

We are really pleased the Home Office has announced the expansion of our Independent Child Trafficking Advocates Service to vulnerable children in the West Midlands, East Midlands and Croydon.

It’s crucial all trafficked children get the help they need to recover from the exploitation and trauma they have suffered. And children at risk of this horrific crime must be protected from harm.

By developing this much-needed service we will be able to support more children who are trafficked into the UK or from one part of the UK to another. We will also be able to upskill more professionals working with children to understand their vulnerabilities, including the risk of being trafficked internally.

Mental health problems can affect anyone, any day of the year, but this is a great day to talk about it and support each other.

Since last year’s event, we’ve done a lot to raise awareness of mental health issues here at Sellafield, and we’re keen to continue this work – recognising that we all need to do more.

Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year. Talking to someone about these is often the first step to getting better.

As part of this, we’re sponsoring and attending the launch of the ‘This is Me’ campaign in Liverpool.The event and the campaign are designed to help raise awareness and change attitudes towards mental health in the north-west business community.

Sellafield Ltd’s Alan Rankin said:

We are delighted to be part of the north west group of companies in Liverpool supporting the ‘This Is Me’ campaign, focused on reducing stigma around mental health and making our work place a better place for everyone to be.

We are proud supporters of the campaign, and earlier this year, along with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority produced our own ‘This is Me’ video which raised awareness of mental health in the nuclear industry.