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The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill

Sep 25, 2023 6:49:40 PM

Update

The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill, which makes provision for economic crime and corporate transparency and covers companies, limited partnerships, and other kinds of corporate entity, as well as entities registered overseas, is approaching the final stages of its passage through Parliament.

The Bill, which is now expected to receive Royal Ascent by the end of this year, follows on from the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022, which was fast-tracked through Parliament in March 2022, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

During the passage of the earlier bill, the government committed to introducing a second economic crime bill early in the 2022-23 session of Parliament. The current Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill then featured in the May 2022 Queen’s Speech.

The Bill’s three stated objectives are to:

  • Prevent organised criminals, fraudsters, kleptocrats and terrorists from using companies and other corporate entities to abuse the UK’s open economy
  • Strengthen the UK’s broader response to economic crime
  • Support enterprise by enabling Companies House to deliver a better service for more than four million UK companies, and improve the reliability of its data to help inform business transactions and lending decisions across the economy.
The Bill has 162 clauses and eight Schedules, divided into five substantive Parts.

Links: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3339