U.K. bill would empower Companies House as AML regulator
By 
Neil Hodge2022-09-27T13:54:00
The U.K. government said it wants to give Companies House more power and resources to help combat money laundering.
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill aims to stem the flow of dirty money coming into the United Kingdom. The bill would give the organization—which provides a public register of businesses, their accounts, and their directors—new powers to “check, challenge, and decline” false information when new companies are set up.
Companies House’s investigation and enforcement powers would also be beefed up, enabling it to cross-check data with other organizations and report suspicious activity to security agencies and law enforcement, the U.K. government stated in a Sept. 22 press release.
Related articles
-
PremiumLexisNexis survey: Compliance costs soared for U.K. banks in 2023
Nearly all but a tiny minority of financial institutions saw their costs of financial crime compliance rise in 2023, a survey by LexisNexis and Oxford Economics found.
-
PremiumAll eyes on Companies House in U.K. corporate transparency efforts
The success of the U.K.’s latest legislative efforts to tackle financial crime depends on the capability of transforming what is often regarded as one of the country’s most passive regulators into a proactive—even aggressive—prosecuting authority.
-
News BriefCompanies House set for ‘biggest shakeup’ under U.K. corporate transparency bill
The United Kingdom adopted the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which aims to stem the flow of dirty money coming into the country through enhancements to government agency capabilities and law enforcement.
More from Regulatory Policy
-
ArticleDOJ is ramping up, not ramping down, health care fraud enforcement
While the Trump administration may have shifted away from pursuing small, white-collar, financial crimes, its focus on health care fraud cases is as hot as ever.
-
ArticleU.K. enforcement appetite over off-channel comms grows as U.S. wanes
The U.K’.s financial regulator has given a strong indication that financial firms’ use of unauthorized devices and apps is under scrutiny and that policies around off-channel communications need to be tightened up.
-
ArticleFinCEN seeks to lighten the regulatory load on casinos
Regulatory relief from anti-money laundering rules is in the cards for casinos, insurance companies and other non-bank financial institutions, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said Monday.