City of London Police and Lloyds Banking Group have joined forces in a £1.5m three-year deal to combat economic crime.

A joint working partnership and sponsorship agreement has been signed which will complement the work that the City of London Police already does with industry partners.

Lloyds will sponsor City of London Police £1.5m over three years to deliver “unique projects” to counter economic crime.

The money will be allocated to several projects over the three year period, with the goal being to strengthen UK financial capabilities to detect criminals and to protect the public and businesses.

One such project will see the partnership delivering training of financial investigators with the intention of sharing best practices and expertise across both organisations.

The force says this will “enhance capability in the detection, prevention and awareness of economic crime.”

Also, a programme of secondments and exchanges between the City of London Police and Lloyds Banking Group will take place, helping investigators and analysts to better understand criminal methodologies and banking practices and how this affects law enforcement.

During the three year period, an economic crime panel of experts will be established, which will allow for a group of volunteer specialist economic crime advisors to come together and share expertise and best practice.

City of London Police’s Assistant Commissioner, Alistair Sutherland said: “Developing partnerships to tackle fraud is a cornerstone of our overall approach.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to work closely with a highly regarded, international private sector partner and to share our expertise and knowledge.

“We want to do everything we can to prevent economic crime from ruining lives and businesses, and this sponsorship agreement will help us to do exactly that.”

Brian Dilley, group director of fraud and financial crime prevention for Lloyds Banking Group, said: “This is an important partnership with the City of London Police and part of Lloyds Banking Group’s commitment and priority of keeping our customers’ money safe. 

“By working collaboratively under a public- private partnership, Lloyds Banking Group and City of London Police will be more effective in reducing the harm caused to our communities by criminals.”