Key Facts

• Helena Wood is a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute leading the economic crime programme.
• The Bill's provisions on information sharing are seen as a missed opportunity compared to global standards, particularly in relation to collaborative data analytics models being implemented in countries like Holland and Singapore.
• Wood mentions the need for legislation that gives regulated sectors confidence to share transaction monitoring data at scale.
• Duncan Hames mentions that UK limited liability partnerships have been used in major money laundering scandals.
• There are 1,600 LLPs implicated in various scandals.
• A pair of corporate partners registered in Belize control over 2,000 UK limited liability partnerships.
• Hundreds of millions of pounds worth of UK real estate owned by Russian-sanctioned entities have not been marked as restricted on the Land Registry.
• Unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) are not sufficient tools for all cases, particularly involving oligarchs who do not fit under PEP definitions in UWO legislation.
• The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 part 5 could adopt principles from other regimes to enhance law enforcement capabilities.
• The Bill opens up a lot of information for addressing issues related to economic crime.
• Open data publication can help uncover crimes if civil society is equipped with the necessary tools.
• Duncan Hames' organisation conducts network analysis using open data.
• Hannah Bardell introduces witnesses for the Committee.
• Chris Taggart co-founded OpenCorporates, an open database of companies with about five million users monthly.
• Elspeth Berry is an Associate Professor at Nottingham Law School focusing on limited partnerships and LLPs.
• Chris Taggart explains that Companies House uses inferred personal IDs based on home addresses and other supplied information.
• Elspeth Berry mentions the need to restore historic company information and clarify provisions for limited partnerships.
• James Daly raises concerns about the investigative capacity of Companies House in light of complex legal structures associated with legitimate businesses.
• Shareholder information is important for preventing economic crime.
• A reduction in the current 25% shareholding barrier to 5% or 10% could improve transparency.
• Limited partnerships can be used to hide ownership and evade accountability.
• Graham Barrow is introduced as a private citizen who has spent five years investigating issues at Companies House.
• He identifies more problems with the registration systems than Companies House itself.
• His work highlights abuses in companies incorporated in offshore jurisdictions with weaker money laundering laws.
• MP Hannah Bardell notices some Members are struggling to hear during the session.
• Hannah Bardell asks Graham Barrow to speak directly into his microphone.
• Barrow's analysis has identified an organized crime group creating about 1,500 companies with stolen HR data.
• The average overdraft obtained fraudulently through these company formations is between £5,000 and £8,000 per company.
• Companies House records show that around 30,000 companies have changed their names for fewer than seven days before reverting to their original name as a phoenixing tactic.
• Companies House has access to important information such as email addresses, IP addresses, and credit card details.
• About 150,000 company incorporations each year originate from outside the UK.
• There were 50,000 applications from China last year following a ban on cryptocurrency in September.
• Shell companies are often used to move corrupt funds and access banking without real details.
• No further questions from Members.
• Ordered to adjourn further consideration at Two o'clock.