Clue launches Economic Crime Threat Assessment 2025

Clue has released its Economic Crime Threat Assessment: Risks and Resilience in 2025, offering a clear view of how fraud, money laundering, sanctions evasion, and cybercrime are converging to undermine financial integrity and national security.

“Economic crime is no longer a niche financial issue – it’s a global, systemic threat,” says author of the assessment, Laura Eshelby, Head of Economic Crime at Clue. “We must disrupt early, invest in technology and skills, and work across sectors to fight back.”

A fast-evolving threat

Fraud now accounts for 40% of all crime in England and Wales, costing the UK an estimated £200 billion annually, with £100 billion laundered through UK-linked structures. Two-thirds of fraud is cyber-enabled, while 86% goes unreported, leaving major blind spots for enforcement.

The assessment highlights key risks across public services, industry, finance, and individuals – including large-scale public sector fraud, AI-driven scams, insider threats in remote workforces, and organised criminal networks operating across borders.

Building resilience

The report sets out priority actions for government, law enforcement, and industry to strengthen defences, including:

• Closer public–private collaboration and intelligence sharing
• Investment in cyber skills, digital forensics, and AI literacy
• Shifting from reactive response to early disruption
• Leveraging new legal tools like the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act

Download the full Economic Crime Threat Assessment

Economic crime is a universal threat – this assessment is essential reading for organisations across all sectors seeking to protect their people, assets, and operations from increasingly sophisticated risks.