Home secretary Amber Rudd has announced a new national economic crime centre within the National Crime Agency (NCA) will task and coordinate the national response to economic crime, backed by greater intelligence and analytical capabilities. It will draw on expertise from across government, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, as well as new resources provided by the private sector.

To further improve the coordination of the law enforcement response, new legislation will allow the NCA to directly task the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to investigate the worst offenders.

Despite predictions that it would close, Rudd confirmed the SFO will continue to act as an independent organisation, supporting the multi-agency response led by the NCA.

In addition, the government has published its anti-corruption strategy, setting out its six key priorities and establishing a framework for action for the period to 2022.

These priorities are: reducing the insider threat in high risk domestic sectors such as borders and ports; reducing corruption in public procurement and grants; promoting integrity across the public and private sectors; strengthening the integrity of the UK as an international financial centre; improving the business environment globally; and working with other countries to combat corruption.

As part of the strategy, the government has also renewed its commitment to introduce an overseas companies beneficial ownership register, which is being developed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

It will mean that overseas companies that own or buy property in the UK, or participate in central government procurement, will be required to provide details of their ultimate owners.

The strategy also states that the government will carry out a statutory review of the implementation of the 2016 bilateral company beneficial ownership arrangements with the UK’s overseas territories and crown dependencies for the period ending December 2018. This will assess whether the new arrangements have been effective – in particular whether they have resulted in improved law enforcement outcomes – and to consider if these need to be strengthened.

Further commitments were also made to seize criminal assets. A new working group will be established, which will include the NCA, the police (including devolved forces), HMRC, the Crown Prosecution Service and the SFO to use the powers within the Criminal Finances Act for forfeiture of criminal money.

To provide a more targeted, intelligence-led focus on high risk economic crime, the government will also reform the suspicious activity reports regime, making the necessary legislative, operational and technical changes required.

MP John Penrose has been appointed as the new anti-corruption champion responsible for challenging and supporting the government in implementing the strategy, as well as promoting the UK’s response to corruption both domestically and internationally.

UK anti-corruption strategy 2017 to 2022 is here.

Report by Pat Sweet