Preparing for the Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act
The Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA), the first significant provisions of which came into force in March 2024, facilitates the reform of Companies House and gives it enhanced powers – transforming it from a passive recipient of information into a far more active regulator of company information.
Airmic held a webinar on the Act on 9 October to help members and their organisations prepare for these changes. Sarah Hawes, Head of Corporate Knowledge at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, discussed the changes to Companies House and consequential changes to company administration, as well as the changes to corporate criminal liability – such as the new strict liability corporate offence of failure to prevent fraud – and new identity verification requirements for directors.
A note from Herbert Smith Freehills published earlier in the year highlighted that “the broad scope of persons who may be associated with a relevant body for the purpose of the FTP Fraud Offence means companies face increased exposure if a fraud offence is committed.”