Former Director-General of the UK National Crime Agency Keith Bristow QPM recently was named the first chairman of the Gambling Anti-Money Laundering Group. Established last month, the organization’s goal is to improve the gambling industry’s ability to battle money laundering by producing industry best practice guidelines in collaboration with the Gambling Commission.
GAMLG members include the Remote Gambling Association and the Association of British Bookmakers. Together, these associations represent more than 70 percent of the British gambling market.
Bristow noted, “The total amount of money laundered into and through the UK is unknown, but we do know that it will include the proceeds of virtually all serious and organized crime in the UK, as well as significant sums from overseas. Criminals use a range of dishonest methods to launder their criminal profits, including gambling, which can provide a credible explanation for a source of wealth. As chair of the GAMLG, I will work constructively with the industry to continue to drive up standards and, when necessary, robustly challenge current policy and practice.”
RGA Chief Executive Clive Hawkswood added, “GAMLG will help us to identify and promote best practice to ensure that we deal with these threats consistently and effectively. I am delighted that Keith accepted our invitation to become GAMLG chairman. His appointment reflects how seriously we take these issues and, knowing him as I do, there is no doubt that he will very much hold us to account.”
ABB Chief Executive Malcolm George stated, “We have put in place strong processes through the existing ABB code to minimize the threat of money laundering in betting offices, but money launderers do not respect sector boundaries and the more that we can share information and best practice across the wider industry, the better it will be. This is an area where we cannot be complacent and the appointment of someone with the standing and reputation of Keith Bristow underlines our commitment to being leaders in this field.”
