While this publication primarily focuses on the introduction and use of criminal sanctions in the business crime space, we also consider key regulatory developments that are likely to be of interest to those managing financial crime risks within businesses. The pandemic has impacted the U.K. business crime landscape in several ways presenting new risks to identify and manage. Disrupted supply chains, remote workforces and economic pressures have created an environment ripe with opportunities for exploitation. Even though many of the risk-types are not new, the ways in which they are presenting themselves can be very different. For example, fraudulent schemes centring on the provision of PPE, access to testing and vaccines, and government loan schemes and other stimulus measures have become commonplace. In the U.K., like most other countries, dedicated taskforces have been created to target pandemic-related criminal activity.

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