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Bribery & Corruption
United Kingdom
This section includes initiatives by the SFO, NCA, TI UK, UK Government among others.
UK Bribery Act 2010
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SFO secures confiscation order for over £1m against Timothy Schools, a convicted solicitor implicated in a £100m fraud scheme
This action exemplifies the SFO’s commitment to tracing and recovering proceeds of complex economic crimes. The recovered funds will be used to compensate victims, with Schools facing an additional five-year prison term if he fails to comply with the repayment order. This case is part of a series of recent successful asset recovery actions by the SFO, demonstrating its ongoing efforts to combat financial crime and ensure that perpetrators do not benefit from their illicit activities…
SFO charges five men, including two solicitors following the collapse of the law firm Axiom Ince and alleged improper use of over £60m of client money
The firm’s CEO and director Pragnesh Modhwadia is charged alongside co-director Shyam Mistry and Chief Financial Officer Muhammad Ali with two counts of fraud by abuse of position. They are alleged to have misused client funds and exposed thousands of the firm’s clients to losses…
TI-UK’s “Cheques and Balances” report analyses UK political finance, highlighting vulnerabilities in electoral laws that may have allowed illicit financial flows to influence party operations
Report focuses on the rising political costs if big money, which has increased the power of wealthy individuals. It also considers vulnerabilities in electoral laws, which may have enabled potentially illicit financial flows to influence party operations. Cash-for-access and undue influence is also covered in this report, as is the spectre of foreign interference.
UK Govt appoints Baroness Hodge as the new Anti-Corruption Champion and launches pilot Domestic Corruption Unit with CoLP
Key initiatives include a new Fraud Strategy, a UK Anti-Corruption Strategy, and the establishment of Domestic Corruption Unit to enhance investigations and intelligence. Collaborative efforts between government, law enforcement, financial institutions, and tech companies are crucial, with a focus on data sharing and leveraging technology like AI…
UK Home Secretary announces Baroness Hodge of Barking as the Prime Minister’s new Anti-Corruption Champion
As Champion Baroness Hodge will have three core responsibilities: 1)Helping the Government to drive development of a new Anti-Corruption Strategy and provide a challenge function for its delivery, once agreed. 2) Acting as a Government entry point on anti-corruption issues for Parliamentarians, private sector representatives and civil society. 3)Where required, engaging internationally to help drive progress on UK priorities.
TI-UK analysis reveals £5.9bn in suspicious funds used to purchase UK properties via shell companies in UK’s Overseas Territories, with over 90% channelled through the British Virgin Islands
Corporate secrecy in the UK’s Overseas Territories plays a central role in enabling corruption, money laundering, and the evasion of tax and sanctions on a global scale. The research highlights the Overseas Territories’ role as global hubs for suspicious and illicit wealth. The secrecy provided by these jurisdictions have made them destinations of choice for corrupt individuals seeking to conceal criminal acts and enjoy the proceeds of their crimes with impunity. Greater transparency is essential to trace these financial flows, not only within the property sector but in the broader fight against corruption and money laundering. Of UK£11.1 billion (US$14.1bn) invested in 1,600 UK properties, since 2016, using funds with dubious origins, half (UK£5.9bn (US$7.5bn)) came via shell companies set up in UK Overseas Territories, with most (UK£5.5bn (US$7.0bn) from entities registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI)…
SFO announces bribery investigation into defence firm, Thales
The Thales Group is headquartered in Paris and its subsidiary Thales UK employs over 7,000 staff in the UK across 16 sites. Investigators from the SFO and French authority Parquet National Financier (PNF) have informed the company of the investigation.
SFO launches an investigation into suspected bribery and corruption at multi-national aviation and defence electronics group Thales
Investigators from the SFO and French authority Parquet National Financier (PNF) have informed the company of the investigation. The SFO and PNF are conducting a joint investigation in their respective jurisdictions…
TI-UK explores ‘Should lying by politicians be a criminal offence?’, focusing on defining deception, abuse risks, and parliamentary sovereignty
The article explores whether lying by politicians should be criminalized. Transparency International UK concludes that making deception a criminal offense wouldn’t restore public trust, could worsen dissatisfaction, and might be abused. Instead, it recommends strengthening existing accountability mechanisms, clarifying sanctions, and involving the public to rebuild trust in politics and ensure fair rule enforcement.
At the 2024 Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crime, Basel stresses that targeting assets linked to corruption deters illicit activities, enforces accountability, and aids in resource recovery
Basel emphasized the importance of cross-border collaboration in tracing, freezing, and recovering assets, which enhances global efforts to combat corruption. The role of financial institutions in identifying and reporting suspicious activities was highlighted as critical in the process of detecting and recovering corrupt assets…
Basel report on “Corruption and Governance risks threaten a just energy transition” outlines actions to tackle corruption and governance risks, and enhance transparency and accountability
The paper reveals that significant risks exist around a lack of transparency in the beneficial ownership of partners, contractors and suppliers, Opaque and irregular procedures for obtaining licences, contracts and land concessions, Inadequate community consultation, plus fraud and misappropriation of benefit funds, Misuse of subsidies and unethical tax practices…
Spotlight on Corruption New report finds that using aid to fight dirty money is crucial for effectively tackling corruption and financial crime
Our report further finds that the ICU is hobbled by real challenges in the wider enforcement and criminal justice landscape – including issues with retention of expertise, and extraordinarily long delays owing to disclosure requirements and the inequality of arms with wealthy suspects….