OUR GLOBAL MOVEMENT
Rachel has worked on anti-corruption policy for over a decade, focussing on corruption in the UK and the UK’s role as a safe haven for dirty money. She heads up TI-UK's external-facing team, which also hosts the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition Secretariat, and leads TI-UK's government-facing work. She has held roles as Chair of the Economic Crime Civil Society Organisations Steering Group (CSOSG), Co-Chair of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, and was a founding member of the UK Open Government Network steering group.
This afternoon the Foreign Secretary launched a new campaign to tackle the dirty money flowing into and through the UK.
Standing outside Brompton Road tube station, David Lammy announced sanctions on some of the world’s most infamous kleptocrats, signalling a renewed Government crackdown on illicit wealth.
We're hopeful today’s announcement marks a starting point for the increased tactical use of the anti-corruption sanctions regime. While this represents just one tool in the UK's armoury to take on Kleptocrats, sanctions should be deployed more often to make Britain a hostile environment for corrupt individuals.
But most importantly, this announcement sets out the Government’s ambition to tackle the scourge of dirty money in the UK, with the Foreign Secretary declaring that the “golden age of money laundering is over”. The statement, delivered in partnership with the Home Secretary and involving the Chancellor, marks the first step in a campaign to fight corruption "at home and abroad." This is a welcome acknowledgment of the reality that, for the UK to have credibility on the global stage, we must first clean up our own backyard.
So, if the Government is to deliver on the ambition laid out today, what might that look like?
For the tide to finally turn, cross-departmental efforts will be vital to strengthen regulation of the professionals who enable corrupt kleptocrats to hide their money and launder their reputations here. Transparency International UK’s research shows the current supervisory and regulatory regime is not fit for purpose and is in dire need of change. The Government now has an opportunity to publish its response to the consultation on supervisory reform and consolidate the web of siloed supervisors who oversee this area.
Corporate secrecy enables corrupt and criminal funds to be moved undetected. Despite the introduction of two Economic Crime Acts, major loopholes remain on trust transparency, accuracy of shareholder information, and data on who really controls thousands of opaque Limited Liability Partnerships.
It’s also worth noting that this week, leaders from the Overseas Territories met with UK ministers for the 2024 Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council. We hope that discussions have been held to establish timelines for the introduction of public beneficial ownership registers in these jurisdictions, and that similar progression is being made with the Crown Dependencies.
Financial centres introducing – as an interim step – a company register accessible to those who are recognised as having ‘legitimate interest’, need to show genuine progress towards corporate transparency. They should, at the very least, follow best practices set out in the EU's 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive. This includes granting access to the register in full and based on an applicant's status (rather than per request), ensuring timely and transparent decisions for those who apply to be granted access to the register, as well as enhancing data usability by allowing access to bulk data and lightweight data use agreements.
The sanctions announced today mark an important step forward. Beyond this, law enforcement agencies should be resourced and empowered to tackle economic crime, and journalists and NGOs, like us, who expose illicit finance should be protected by the Government bringing forward effective and comprehensive Anti-SLAPP legislation across the UK.
The complex and multi-faceted nature of illicit finance requires a coordinated, cross-departmental response and it’s encouraging to see this approach reflected in the Government’s statement and accompanying campaign video. We’re encouraged by the ambition set out by the Foreign Secretary today. The real test will be to see how these plans translate into action. With a new Anti-Corruption Strategy due next year, we will be watching with interest.
