Start With the Code
Ask the people who read UK suspicious activity reports for their top tip, and it is not about prose. UKFIU staff say the first thing they ask reporters for is the glossary code.
I find that fascinating, because a glossary code is not writing at all. It is a label.
What the label does for the reader
Glossary codes classify the type of offence involved, and let wider law enforcement analyse reports to spot money laundering trends. They also help the UKFIU pass information to the right team or law enforcement agency faster. The code works before anyone reads a sentence. It says what kind of story this is.
What the label does for the writer
Here is the part I think matters most. To pick the right code, the analyst has to decide what they suspect. Not “something is off”. A specific type of suspicion. That decision happens before the first sentence, and it shapes every sentence after it.
A vague narrative is often what you get when the decision is deferred. The writer describes events and hopes the reader will draw the conclusion.
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A limit is also a design choice
The reason for suspicion text space is limited to 8,000 characters, around 1,500 words, and the guidance suggests starting it with the code. If you ever hit the limit, you are probably writing a case file, not a narrative. A narrative says why. The case file holds the rest.
Do not copy what the form already holds
UKFIU guidance has advised that subject details belong in the subject fields and need not be repeated in the reason for suspicion. Every repeated detail pushes the real reasoning further down the page.
Where this goes wrong upstream
A code needs a decision. A decision needs facts. Facts need access. If an analyst could not see the earlier case or the linked account, the decision is shakier, and the narrative shows it. That is why I think SAR quality is mostly settled before writing starts. I set out that argument in the full case for upstream quality.
If you want to see how one platform approaches giving analysts that picture, it is described at technoxander.com/aml-investigation-platform.
Start with the code. Then find out whether you have the facts to justify it.
