Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to (a) tackle economic crime and (b) prevent fraudulent companies from accessing public funds.

Wider work to tackle economic crime is set out through the Economic Crime Plan. The Government is on course to deliver 49 of the 52 actions set out in the Plan. Key progress includes updating the Money Laundering Regulations to close vulnerabilities in our system and to bring new sectors in scope of the requirements; the publication of proposals for Companies House reform, which will ensure it has a larger role in combatting economic crime; and legislating for a new Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy, which will aim to raise around £100 million per year to help fund anti-money laundering measures.

The Prime Minister announced on Thursday 24 February that we will bring forward measures on Unexplained Wealth Orders from the Economic Crime Bill to be introduced before the House rises for Easter. We will set out further detail before Easter on the range of policies to be included in the full Bill in the next session, including on reforms to Companies House and a Register of Overseas property ownership. The Prime Minister also confirmed that we will set up a new dedicated Kleptocracy cell in the National Crime Agency to target sanctions evasion and corrupt Russian assets hidden in the UK – and that means oligarchs in London will have nowhere to hide.

The steps taken to prevent fraudulent companies accessing public funds depend on the nature of the public funding. Common due diligence approaches include Spotlight, the government’s online automated due-diligence tool, fraud prevention data analytics, and Credit Reference Agency due diligence services.