UK Companies House strikes non-compliant UK companies off register
The UK National Crime Agency reported, on 16 July, that 11,500 UK companies had been struck off Companies House register over the last year for failure to comply with the Registered Office requirements under the Companies Act 2006.
The project, coordinated by the National Economic Crime Centre, was designed to identify and enable enforcement action against high-risk company incorporation locations and corporate entities believed to be enabling criminality in the UK and overseas.
It involved the National Crime Agency, Companies House, HM Revenue & Customs, the Insolvency Service, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision, the Home Office and the UK police.
As part of the project, police visited 11 addresses where 30 high risk trust and company service providers operated. They identified that no real business activity was taking place and that company formation agents had failed to comply with relevant requirements under the Companies Act.
As a result, key individuals involved in company formation have been barred from making further registrations, criminal referrals have been made to the Insolvency Service, three high risk trust and company service providers are to be closed, with a further 27 facing enforcement action, and significant criminal property has been identified for law enforcement civil recovery action.
The activity forms a part of wider cross-government efforts to prevent the abuse of UK corporations by criminals. Landmark reforms under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act are coming into force at Companies House, including the new Authorised Corporate Service Provider regime and forthcoming ID Verification requirements.
“We recognise that many third-party agents provide legitimate services and play an active role in the creation and management of UK companies. However, we also know that some agents are complicit in various forms of criminality by wilfully abusing and exploiting the system,” said Companies House Director of Intelligence and Law Enforcement Engagement Martin Swain.
“I am pleased that Companies House is playing a much greater role in helping to disrupt this type of activity and reduce economic crime – as our role here shows. We will continue to support our law enforcement and regulatory partners in identifying, targeting and stopping abuse of the company register.”
