REP-CRIM annual financial crime return

Category: Compliance & AML · Reviewed by Taylor Watts, Broker · New Business · Last reviewed June 2026

The FCA’s annual financial crime data return that captures firm-level metrics on customers, jurisdictions, SAR volumes, sanctions exposure, fraud and other financial-crime indicators — used by the FCA to risk-rank the firm population.

Definition

REP-CRIM (full name: the Financial Crime Annual Return) is the FCA’s specified annual return capturing key financial crime data from in-scope firms. It informs the FCA’s risk-based supervisory model, identifies thematic concerns and supports the FCA’s mandate to disrupt financial crime under its operational objectives.

Legal / Regulatory basis

FCA Handbook, SUP 16.23. Reporting is mandatory for firms within the prescribed population — historically the largest firms by relevance to financial crime, with the population progressively widened. Made under FSMA sections 137A and 138 with substantive supervisory power under FSMA Part XI.

How it works in practice

The return covers data points including customer numbers by risk category, exposure to high-risk jurisdictions, PEP volumes, SAR submissions, sanctions screening alert volumes, fraud losses, customer-onboarding metrics and other indicators. The data is submitted via RegData (the FCA’s reporting portal) within four months of the firm’s financial year end.

Common variations

The REP-CRIM population was expanded under FCA Policy Statement PS21/4 (originally proposed in CP21/9), bringing into scope a broader population including all retail mediation firms with annual revenue above a specified threshold (currently £5m of regulated revenue). Smaller insurance intermediaries below the threshold are not required to submit, but should still maintain the underlying records that support equivalent management oversight.

Example

A medium-sized insurance broker above the revenue threshold completes REP-CRIM annually, drawing on AML / sanctions screening system reports, SAR registers, fraud losses ledgers and customer onboarding statistics. The board reviews the return before submission and uses the underlying data for its financial-crime control framework review.

See also

References

FCA Handbook, SUP 16.23. Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, sections 137A and 138. FCA Policy Statement PS21/4.

Last reviewed

By Matt Bartlett, Director, on 2026-06-11.

This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-11. Apex Insurance Brokers Limited, FCA FRN 724952, Companies House 07014570. Not regulated advice — consult your broker on your specific position.

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