The United Kingdom has enacted significant transparency reforms to combat financial crime. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, effective since Oct. 26, aims to prevent the misuse of shell companies and false company ownership information. Companies House will now have enhanced powers to verify director identities, remove non-compliant firms, and share information with law enforcement.
The legislation strengthens law enforcement’s ability to seize and freeze cryptocurrency assets and introduces a new offense for large companies failing to prevent fraud by their staff. This follows previous revelations by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) about abuse-prone British limited liability partnerships.
Transparency International UK praised the act as a major anti-corruption measure but urged addressing remaining financial system loopholes. The legislation also includes reforms allowing courts to quickly dismiss baseless lawsuits against journalists covering financial crime and corruption, a move supported by the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition.
While considered a significant step forward, some experts caution that the implementation may take years, emphasizing the need for interagency information sharing to expose elements involved in criminal fund movements.
By FCCT Editorial Team
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}