UK Amends Corporate Act to Combat Economic Crimes

The UK government reformed the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act to expand regulations securing corporate sectors against crimes related to money laundering and terrorist financing.

The UK lawmakers issued two significant reforms in these regulations to ensure the firms are liable for predicate offenses and other criminal activities. They enhanced the failure to prevent fraud on the liability of the companies which failed to report suspicious activities, including large firms committing crimes to benefit the organisation. However, they claimed that the companies could show their AML measures system and controls in the defense of combating criminal activity. It reveals that they had a responsible feature in place to prevent fraud. 

They also expanded the business verification procedure. Law enforcement agencies can now establish criminal responsibility against an organisation by attributing its activities to a larger range of management. Previously, the company could be liable as a criminal if their limited owners, who have direct control over business decisions, were involved in illicit activities. The Act now expressly clarifies that an organisation may be held accountable for the criminal activities of a wider group of seniors. In the reforms, the government stated, “senior managers acting within the actual or apparent scope of their authority commits a relevant offense.” The Act defines the senior manager as a group of individuals who control the company’s will. This amendment covers a wide range of economic crimes, including tax offenses, bribery, fraud, and fraudulent accounting.

The latest enforcement of the Act will be enforced two months after the government approves that by the parliament. The government also said it would consider further measures to protect shareholders and investors from the misconduct of senior managers. The Act would apply to all companies registered in the UK. The government plans to enhance the AML regulations in the future to prevent the integrity of the worldwide financial system.  

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