Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy during the Twelfth sitting of the Public Bill Committee on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill on Tuesday 15 November 2022, Official Report, column 397, whether she has made a recent assessment of the prevalence of limited partnerships (LP) owning assets in the context of reports of LPs owning oil tankers and other vessels.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Department and Companies House closely monitor reports of potential misuse of corporate structures registered in the UK.
The Government is well aware of the risks around misuse of limited partnerships, which is why we acted through the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 to introduce the biggest changes to limited partnership law since 1907. The reforms will crack down on the abuse of all UK limited partnerships, including requiring much more information on the partners and greater controls over their formation.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much was (a) allocated to and (b) spent by each (i) unit and (ii) project funded by his Department's UK Action Against Corruption programme in each financial year from 7 December 2009 to 31 March 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I refer the honourable Member to the answer to Question 12219 given on 8 February 2024.
The budget and spend on the UK Action to Support Developing Countries Fighting Corruption Programme are provided in the below table. This includes budget and spend in previous iterations of the Programme.
Financial Year | National Crime Agency | Crown Prosecution Agency | City of London Police* | Metropolitan Police Service* | UK Central Authority |
2009/10 Budget | - | - | - | - | - |
2009/10 Spend | £128,933.00 | - | £316,271.68 | £243,000.00 | - |
2010/11 Budget | - | - | - | - | - |
2010/11 Spend | £28,059.00 | £4,855.00 | £889,816.90 | £701,969.30 | - |
2011/12 Budget | - | - | - | - | - |
2011/12 Spend | - | £132,713.70 | £900,205.38 | £759,999.83 | - |
2012/13 Budget | - | - | - | - | - |
2012/13 Spend | £211,500.00 | £140,784.47 | £1,122,820.87 | £938,476.84 | - |
2013/14 Budget | - | - | - | - | - |
2013/14 Spend | £201,984.25 | £169,834.41 | £1,318,601.56 | £1,168,001.00 | - |
2014/15 Budget | - | - | - | - | - |
2014/15 Spend | £419,512.99 | £183,043.61 | £1,314,870.58 | £1,352,288.50 | - |
2015/16 Budget | £2,824,469.00 | £194,887.00 | £655,218.00 | £219,462.00 | - |
2015/16 Spend | £1,928,332.37 | £215,639.41 | £612,753.00 | £108,953.74 | - |
2016/17 Budget | £3,912,796.00 | £231,748.00 | £404,426.00 | - | - |
2016/17 Spend | £2,748,325.44 | £216,546.87 | £455,877.74 | - | - |
2017/18 Budget | £4,361,241.00 | £244,761.00 | £240,000.00 | - | - |
2017/18 Spend | £3,875,640.69 | £261,205.19 | £191,936.82 | - | - |
2018/19 Budget | £4,443,003.00 | £272,931.00 | £180,700.00 | - | - |
2018/19 Spend | £4,869,794.62 | £252,941.12 | £180,471.24 | - | - |
2019/20 Budget | £4,610,853.00 | £272,931.00 | £170,000.00 | - | - |
2019/20 Spend | £4,230,454.11 | £300,146.87 | £233,218.28 | - | - |
2020/21 Budget | £5,656,027.00 | £317,000.00 | £117,943.00 (Budget for FY 2020/21 and 2021/22) | - | £254,788.00 |
2020/21 Spend | £5,538,861.87 | £313,544.41 | £36,444.55 | - | £180,032.77 |
2021/22 Budget | £5,023,000.00 | £213,000.00 | £117,943.00 (Budget for FY 2020/21 and 2021/22) | - | £65,608.00 |
2021/22 Spend | £4,699,253.60 | £213,000.00 | £18,643.20 | - | £54,776.10 |
2022/23 Budget | £4,764,774.00 | £213,000.00 | - | - | - |
2022/23 Spend | £5,006,953.80 | £213,000.00 | - | - | - |
*The Metropolitan Police Service Proceeds of Corruption Team (POCU) and the work of the City of London Police Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit (OACU) were merged with the National Crime Agency in 2015. OACU funding continued to complete legacy cases until 2021/22. The UK Central Authority funding began in 2020 but then was cut as a result of Covid budget priorities.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide a list of the attendees at the HMRC's stakeholder conference on 16 February 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are unable to provide specific details of the individuals who attended as this would be in breach of GDPR rules.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an estimate of the (a) number and proportion of permanent staff in the National Crime Agency's International Corruption Unit who were in the unit for more than 12 months and (b) staff attrition rate from that unit in the last two financial years.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The International Corruption Unit (ICU) is the dedicated team within the NCA that investigates serious criminal allegations of bribery and corruption.
We are unable to disclose the number of staff employed in the ICU as that information is operationally sensitive. However, in 2022/23, 86% of staff had been in the unit for more than 12 months. In 2021/22 it was 84% of staff.
The ICU staff annual attrition rate was recorded at 5.5% in both 2021/22 and 2022/23.
Due to complexities on deriving the figure, the NCA is unable to provide the average years of staff service.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data his Department holds on the number of full-time equivalent staff in the National Crime Agency International Corruption Unit (a) in total and (b) who were funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's UK Action Against Corruption programme between 7 December 2009 and 31 March 2023.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The International Corruption Unit (ICU) was not formed until 2015, so we do not hold any information prior to this date.
We are unable to disclose the number of staff employed in the ICU as that information is operationally sensitive. However, as of March 2024 the percentage of staff in the ICU, funded by the FCDO UK Action Against Corruption Programme, is 76%.
This is broadly comparable over the programme’s funding period.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions for money laundering offences HM Revenue and Customs brought against individuals in each year since 2013; and how many of those prosecutions resulted in a conviction in each of those years.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the right hon. Member for Barking to the answer I gave on 11 March 2024 to Question UIN 16576 .
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who attended HMRC's stakeholder conference this year.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are unable to provide specific details of the individuals who attended as this would be in breach of GDPR rules.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions for money laundering offences HM Revenue and Customs have brought against individuals in each year since 2013; and how many of those prosecutions resulted in a conviction in each of those years.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC takes a flexible and dynamic resourcing approach to criminally investigating suspected tax crimes and associated money laundering. While HMRC is not a prosecuting authority, we prepare the cases to the highest evidential standard and pass the case to the relevant independent prosecuting authority to decide if the case satisfies the two-stage test for prosecution.
The following is aggregate data for HMRC’s investigations, since 2013 that resulted in a prosecution and conviction for either money laundering offences as set out in Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, or prosecutable breaches of supervisory requirement in various versions of the Money Laundering Regulations.
Year | No. of positive charging decisions[2] | No. of convictions[3] |
2012-13 | 23 | 10 |
2013-14 | 33 | 33 |
2014-15 | 30 | 17 |
2015-16 | 65 | 32 |
2016-17 | 29 | 35 |
2017-18 | 80 | 18 |
2018-19 | 69 | 32 |
2019-20 | 25 | 31 |
2020-21 | 22 | 19 |
2021-22 | 19 | 24 |
2022-23 | 34 | 32 |
To note, criminal investigations can take considerable time to progress and can conclude in a year other than the one in which they are opened. As such there is no direct correlation between yearly figures presented in the table.
[2]cases where the prosecuting authority has agreed to a money laundering or money laundering regulations charge against defendants.
[3] successfully concluded criminal investigations.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many penalties have been issued by HMRC against UK-based entities that facilitate tax avoidance schemes involving non-resident promoters since the coming into force of schedule 13 of the Finance Act 2022; and what the total value of those penalties is.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a result of the action the Government has taken to clamp down on marketed tax avoidance, the estimated tax gap from marketed avoidance sold primarily to individuals has fallen from an estimated £1.5 billion in 2005-06 to £0.5 billion in 2021-22.
The primary purpose of the penalty is to deter UK based entities from acting on behalf of offshore promoters and so make it more difficult for these promoters to sell their schemes in the UK; however, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a wide-ranging approach to tackling promoters of tax avoidance.
For example, as of 31 December 2023, HMRC has published the names of 59 promoters, 23 directors and details of 64 tax avoidance schemes. Publishing this information supports taxpayers in identifying tax avoidance schemes so they can steer clear of or exit them.
Furthermore, Finance Act 2024 has introduced tougher consequences for promoters of tax avoidance. This includes a new criminal offence to strengthen the deterrent to promoting tax avoidance, making it clear promoters must stop promoting these schemes, and a power enabling HMRC to act more quickly to disqualify directors of companies involved in tax avoidance.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress his Department and the National Crime Agency have made on securing the £5.6 million forfeiture against assets held by Javanshir Feyziyev and his family; whether the location of these funds has been identified; and what plans his Department has for the (a) management and (b) disposal of those funds.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The National Crime Agency applied for a forfeiture order on assets held by Javanshir Feyziyev which has been granted. The forfeiture amount of £5,630,994.19 has been deposited and disposed of.
Funds recovered under the powers in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) are entered into the HO Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). ARIS is a discretionary funding model that’s objective is to provide agencies (prosecuting, investigating and enforcement) with incentives to use POCA powers to pursue asset recovery with the overall aim of cutting crime and delivering justice. ARIS receipts are split 50:50 between operational partners involved in the asset recovery process, and central government.
Further information on ARIS can be found at: Asset recovery statistical bulletin: financial years ending 2018 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)