Companies House set for ‘biggest shakeup’ under U.K. corporate transparency bill

The United Kingdom adopted a bill aimed at stemming the flow of dirty money coming into the country through enhancements to government agency capabilities and law enforcement.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act received royal assent Thursday. The bill, introduced in September 2022, provides the United Kingdom with “world-leading powers” to allow its authorities to “target organized criminals and others seeking to abuse the U.K.’s open economy,” the government said in a news release.

Among the bill’s provisions, Companies House, the U.K. agency that maintains the country’s corporate registers, will receive enhanced abilities to verify the identities of company directors and remove fraudulently registered organizations.