Key Facts

• London is perceived as one of the key capitals of money due to its status as a large financial center.
• The Bill proposes two forms of verification by either Companies House or authorised corporate service providers.
• The Financial Action Task Force standards define “person with significant control” as someone owning 25% or more.
• Accountancy firms could benefit from pre-emptive access to intelligence on suspicious financial movements.
• OPBAS issued £117,000 in fines totalling 39 penalties as of 2019-20 figures.
• Insolvency practitioners may facilitate certain activities with exemptions for tainted funds.
• Hannah Bardell is chairing a session on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill.
• The session includes questions from committee members to witnesses regarding regulation, policing roles, and professional responsibilities.
• Committee members request that their questions be delivered to the witnesses in writing for further elaboration.
• Peter Swabey is the policy and research director at the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland.
• The Bill aims to give Companies House additional powers that it previously lacked.
• Swabey suggests requiring company secretaries in larger private companies, not just public companies.
• The current process for registering companies lacks robust security measures.
• Swabey suggests significant verification of ownership and identity for authorised company service providers.
• There is a need to address economic crime through director obligations but the Bill's scope should remain focused.
• Catherine Belton, journalist and author, gave evidence via Zoom.
• Seema Malhotra asked about gaps in legislation to tackle economic crime on a national and international scale.
• Catherine Belton highlighted the need for anti-SLAPP legislation and adequate funding for public watchdogs like the Serious Fraud Office.
• Catherine Belton testified about Russian money laundering through UK LLPs.
• Chatham House had to remove a mention of a convicted Tory donor from a report due to SLAPP concerns.
• The Ministry of Justice proposed criteria for judges to decide if cases are SLAPP cases.
• Catherine Belton discusses the role of LLPs in Russian money laundering schemes.
• The Moldovan laundromat used UK-based LLPs to move $14 billion out of Russia over four years.
• Danske Bank handled illicit Russian cash totaling around $200 billion over a decade.
• Professor Jason Sharman is a professor of international relations at Cambridge University.
• Professor Sharman studies money laundering and corruption by impersonating would-be corrupt officials, money launderers, and terrorist financiers.
• The Bill aims to reduce the attractiveness of the UK as a destination for economic crime.
• Professor Sharman notes the UK has a good reputation for probity but lacks rigorous enforcement.
• It takes about 10 minutes to register a shell company in the UK, compared to close to two weeks in British Virgin Islands with higher fees.
• External entities such as journalists and NGOs could be more effectively utilized by regulatory agencies.
• Hannah Bardell reminded Liam Byrne about the relevance of questioning to the current bill.
• The Bill is focused on economic crime and corporate transparency.
• Hannah Bardell moves to conclude the session.
• Professor Jason Sharman's testimony is about economic crime and corporate transparency.
• No specific new policy or legislative changes are proposed by Hannah Bardell.