Committee challenges Government on Iran sanctions evasion and economic crime

• Inquiry: Implementation of Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
• Business and Trade Committee

Countries like Iran are abusing UK financial markets and corporate vehicles, the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee said in a letter to Government Minister Kevin Hollinrake, “to the detriment of businesses, households and the national interest.”

He added this was “part of a broader pattern of abuse,” and urged the Government not to understate the problem.

This week, Mr Hollinrake gave evidence to the Business and Trade Committee, alongside officials from the Department for Business and Trade and Companies House, on the UK’s economic crime strategy.

In response, the Chair has written to Mr Hollinrake to ask if the Department for Business and Trade will set out an estimate of the scale of corporate abuse, and what steps it is taking to tackle the abuse of Limited Partnerships. He also asks for the Department to supply its targets for the next financial year on challenging sanctions evasion.

Elsewhere in the letter, the Chair also highlights “industrial scale identity fraud.” In 2021-2022, Companies House was reported to have received over 10,000 applications disputing falsely registered addresses on its corporate registration service.

The Chair notes that the Government has failed to publish a current estimate of the cost of fraud to UK businesses. He asks the Government to commit to publishing estimates of both the cost and full scale of business fraud, and to set out its plans to tackle the problem.

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

Image: Parliamentary copyright