Welcome toECRF | CRFCONFERENCECardiff UK | 2016

Registry Initiatives

Helping law enforcement to combat fraud and improving compliance

Stuart MorganIntegrity Unit, Companies House

About Companies House

• Registry not a regulator– receives information – makes it accessible– available for free

• Enforcement role– Non-compliance– Late filing penalties– Prosecution

Deterrence and remedies

Problem• 2,000 complaints a year relating to unauthorised

use of addresses for Registered Office Address (ROA) and bogus appointments

Action • Introduction of ROA and Director disputes legislation commenced 6th April, 2016

Results

• Combatting corporate hijack with:o Power to move registered office to default

address at CH o Power to remove details of appointment where

person did not consent

Work with law enforcement

• Prior to 2014 received an average of 10 requests per month from law enforcement agencies (LEA)

• Integrity Unit was established in April, 2014• To support the combat of economic crime and fraud

the Integrity Unit joined GAIN• LEA interested in data that sits behind the scenes• Receive 140 requests from LEA every month• Provide bespoke analysis for investigations

Examples / case studies

HMRC Supported investigations relating to VAT fraud

DWP Helped combat economic crime relating to pension fraud

Insolvency Service

Supported investigations relating to short firm fraud and bogus limited companies

Police A source of intelligence relating to criminal activity by directors

Improving compliance

• Companies House prosecute on behalf of the Secretary of State for non-filing of accounts and annual returns (confirmation statement)

• We promote compliance by:– e-mailing and sending paper reminders– effective compliance process – UK soft compliance 99.1%*

Accounts 98.3%* Annual Returns– imposing a late filing penalty regime, which issued 178,885* UK

penalties for companies filing accounts late totalling £84* million– 2,009 UK directors prosecuted for non-filing offences

* 2014 – 2015 Statistics

Improving compliance

• We improve non-compliance by working with LEA’s and Other Government Departments (OGD)

• FTSE 350 compliance - S409 disclosure of subsidiary undertakings• Natural person Director compliance:

– over 5,000 companies without natural person directors– primarily corporate directors– working closely with BIS prosecutors– improved to over 98% compliance

Disqualified directors

• Companies House maintains register of disqualified directors on behalf of the Secretary of State.

Problem• Disqualifications notified to Secretary of State –

1,227 (including 899 by undertaking) analysis indicated level of under reporting of disqualifications by 10%.

Remedies• Data matching with Insolvency Services• Introduced compliance actions• Companies House working with Ministry of Justice

New challenges

• UK introducing first open register of beneficial ownership or persons of significant control

• Year to populate register, with introduction of systems to identify non-compliance

• Companies House working across government and law enforcement to establish an effective compliance and enforcement regime.

• Working with civil society to help identify non-compliance