PRESS RELEASE: “More must be done”: top anti-corruption organisations react to new UK Economic Crime Plan
London, 30 March 2023 – The government’s new Economic Crime Plan was released today, and Transparency International UK and Spotlight on Corruption were quick to praise much of it – but warned that crucial shortcomings need addressing urgently.
The organisations said the Government needed to go further in reforming Companies House and anti-money-laundering supervision, while providing substantially more funding if it’s to live up to its lofty ambitions.
More funding needed
Sue Hawley, Executive Director of Spotlight on Corruption, said:
"The Economic Crime Plan includes some very welcome commitments. However, the current funding to deliver the plan simply isn't enough to realise its ambitions and it is disappointing that there doesn't appear to be any significant new funding from the public purse for the plan. The £200 million of government investment announced today is recycled money previously announced in the 2021 Spending Review. If the government wants to deliver its ambitions, it must come up with a more serious funding settlement to underpin the Plan, as well as the forthcoming Fraud and Anti-Corruption Strategies."
The new Plan rests heavily on the new Economic Crime Levy from the private sector, and the two NGOs, both members of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, expressed disappointment at this aspect. They noted that, for comparison, £200 million is the same amount the government found for a one-off uplift to the budget for repairing potholes in the next financial year alone.
The UK has a £100 billion money laundering problem and a £190 billion fraud problem, so the public investment in the plan falls far short of what is needed to make a dent in those areas.
There are also serious questions to be asked about how the government can increase the number of financial investigators when many of the large enforcement bodies are running high vacancy rates because they can’t attract or retain staff. The government needs to do a serious pay review across the board for economic crime enforcement to ensure it is attracting the best talent. It also needs to urgently establish a national training programme and a public sector law enforcement career path for economic crime.
Reforming Companies House and improving transparency
Rachel Davies Teka, Co-Chair of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition and Advocacy Director at Transparency International UK, said:
“This new plan represents a positive step in the fight against kleptocracy, though further action is needed to ensure these welcome commitments have real impact. Strengthening economic crime legislation currently in the Lords would help end the abuse of British companies and reform of the UK’s ineffective supervision of private sector money laundering checks would create a credible deterrent against bad practice. These shortfalls should be urgently addressed to prevent them being exploited by criminals and the corrupt.”
She added that the Government can “get Companies House reform right the first time” by strengthening the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill currently before Parliament. This would include transparency over control of UK-registered companies and partnerships, the ability for the Registrar to check verification done by third parties, better (and verified) information about shareholders, and transparency over trusts in the Register of Overseas Entities (a new public database of the true owners of offshore companies that hold UK property).
Final thoughts
Transparency International UK and Spotlight on Corruption reiterated that the new Economic Crime Plan certainly gives reasons to welcome it, such as its strong framing around tackling kleptocracy, its commitment to ensuring transparency in Britain’s offshore financial centres and a commitment to ambitious reform of anti-money laundering checks in high-risk sectors. These changes are critical to tackling the scourge of corruption enabled and perpetuated by economic crime.
But, with legislation before Parliament and political will across parties to confront kleptocracy, the new Economic Crime Plan represents a critical window of opportunity to improve the UK’s safeguards. It’s vital that the opportunity is seized with both hands.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Spotlight on Corruption is a charity that shines a light on the UK’s role in corruption at home and abroad by scrutinising the UK's anti-corruption laws and international anti-corruption commitments, while monitoring their implementation and enforcement.
Transparency International UK is the UK’s largest independent anti-corruption organisation and part of the global Transparency International movement.
The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition brings together the UK’s leading anti-corruption organisations – including Transparency International UK and Spotlight on Corruption. The coalition works collaboratively to fight corruption in the UK and end the UK’s role in facilitating corruption abroad. Together, its members advocate to policymakers, hold those with power to account, and work towards driving real world change.
www.ukanticorruptioncoalition.org
Both Spotlight on Corruption and Transparency International UK are also members of the Economic Crime Civil Society Organisations Steering Group.
www.rusi.org/ecp/economic-crime-civil-society-organisations-steering-group