Key Facts

• The Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday 25 October, Thursday 27 October, and various dates in November.
• Witnesses from UK Finance, BVCA, Lloyds Bank, National Police Chiefs Council, Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, Companies House, Serious Fraud Office, Spotlight on Corruption, Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at RUSI, Transparency International, OpenCorporates, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland, City of London Law Society are to give oral evidence.
• Written evidence will be made available in the Committee Room and circulated by email.
• Dame Margaret Hodge's written evidence highlights that current proposals may not sufficiently deter criminals.
• Gurpreet Manku agrees with the necessity to prevent criminal use of limited partnerships but expresses concern over potential deterring effects on passive investors due to increased liabilities and management responsibilities.
• Companies House abuse is a significant problem in the regulated sector.
• The Bill does not provide for order-making powers to verify directors or beneficial owners' status.
• The US and Switzerland are implementing new standards for company registers.
• Incorporation fees in other EU countries range from £50 to £100.
• There is an economic crime levy coming into effect next year.
• The introduction of provisions requires authorised corporate service providers to submit documentation and measures around annual confirmation statements.
• Two thirds of venture capital and growth capital funds' investments are outside London; 90% go to small and medium-sized enterprises.
• English limited partnerships and Scottish limited partnerships have been used for nefarious purposes, leading to a need for stricter regulations.
• Over a thousand ILPs were created between early 1900s and 2014.
• 2,400 ILPs were set up from 15 onwards.
• Gurpreet Manku's evidence suggests the need for a tertiary body but lacks specific figures.
• Laurence Robertson acknowledges that they have less than one minute left for comments from Ms Manku.
• Ms Manku is glad that provisions are being implemented, having worked on them since 2018.
• Nigel Kirby introduces himself as the head of group financial intelligence unit at Lloyds Banking Group.
• The Bill includes provisions for voluntary information sharing but lacks civil liability protection as per section 7 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013.
• There is a dependency on the draft GDPR Bill, which should include 'prevention, investigation' and 'detection' of crime for all crimes to support data sharing.
• The speaker emphasizes that tackling fraud requires a whole ecosystem approach involving payment platforms, sending banks, receiving banks, and victims.
• Nigel Kirby represents Lloyds Banking Group and speaks from his former role at the NCA.
• SARs are accessible to a wide range of financial investigators and held for six years as per legislation.
• The UK's approach to SARs is world-leading, with other countries being envious.
• Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT) has supported 950 investigations leading to 280 arrests and securing £86 million.
• London is often referred to as a laundromat for dirty money from Russian oligarchs.
• NCA’s international corruption unit budget was cut by 13.5% in March 2022, leaving investigators under-resourced.
• Arianna Trozze is a PhD researcher at University College London focusing on financial crime with cryptoassets.
• Andy Gould is a detective chief superintendent running the cyber-crime programme for the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
• The session focuses on detecting and prosecuting financial crimes involving cryptoassets and improving national fraud policing strategy.
• £100 million has been invested over four years for cyber security.
• Officers trained as cryptocurrency tactical advisers in every police force.
• Over hundreds of millions worth of cryptoassets have been seized recently.
• Investigative tools cost between $60,000 to $80,000 per licence.
• There is a risk of losing expertise due to private sector offers.
• Ransomware attacks involve extortion demands made in cryptocurrency, which is seen as harder to trace.
• There are thousands of different forms of cryptoassets or cryptocoins in existence.
• Cyber-crime and cryptocurrency-based crime is reported to be rising according to threat intelligence companies.
• Public blockchains like Bitcoin allow visibility into transactions but do not reveal identities.
• The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has taken on regulatory powers in the crypto space.
• Non-compliant companies serving UK customers without FCA registration are an issue.
• The Bill allows for search and seizure of cryptoassets even if the suspect is not present.
• Jonathan Hall is the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation with a background in crypto from his practice as a barrister.
• The NCA's resources are questioned by Seema Malhotra.
• The Bill allows for seizure not just of cryptoassets but also of any item related to them, which can include computers or paper.
• Individuals whose assets are seized may request conversion into cash if they believe the value has increased.
• Clause 10Z7B(7) defines a UK-connected cryptoasset service provider.
• The clause includes provisions that may extend UK jurisdiction over companies based abroad.
• Laurence Robertson provides the correct page number in the amendment document for reference.
• The statement by Laurence Robertson marks the end of the sitting without introducing new legislation or amendments.