Companies House has announced new powers to clamp down on scammers using other people’s names and addresses to file fraudulent companies, amid reports that UK banks have been warned over a surge in fake filings.
The highly-anticipated changes will be the most significant in the UK’s central corporate register’s 180-year history, it said.
Fraud experts and campaign groups have long put pressure on the Government to fight fraud through Companies House, which until now has allowed people to use a PO Box as their registered address.
This has enabled fraudsters to use UK residents’ homes and details to register companies without their knowledge.
Companies House chief executive Louise Smyth said: “We’ve known for some time that criminals have misused UK companies to commit fraud, money laundering and other forms of economic crime.
“As we start to crack down on abuse of the register, we are prioritising cases where people’s names and addresses have been used without their consent.
“It will now be much quicker and easier to report and remove personal information that has been misused. This will make a real difference to individuals.”
Meanwhile, major banks in the UK have been alerted about hundreds of filings submitted last month over concerns that they could be identified as attempted fraud, according to a report from Sky News on Monday.
It said banks are being warned over filings that relate to the settlement of debts.
We’ve introduced the first set of changes under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act.
Companies House can now take steps to improve the accuracy of the register.
Watch the story so far ⬇️https://t.co/NkAQxrkLLe
— Companies House (@CompaniesHouse) March 4, 2024
The new changes for Companies House, under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, will include stronger checks on company names and greater powers to tackle and remove factually incorrect information.
It will also mean all companies are required to supply a registered email address, and to confirm they are registering a firm for a “lawful purpose”.
New criminal offences and civil penalties have been brought in for people who break the rules.
Transparency International UK has been among the campaign groups to call for change at Companies House and highlight hundreds of “shell companies” on the register which have been involved in billions of pounds worth of corruption and money-laundering.
It has also called on the Government to increase company registration fees which it said are too low, not allowing the fight against economic crime to be properly resourced.
But changes to fees mean that from May 1 it will cost at least £50 to register a company in the UK.
Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said the new powers will see an end to the UK “playing host to the world’s scammers”.
“The new reforms, which come into effect today, provide further protection to the public from companies fraudulently using their address and will begin to remove the smoke and mirrors around companies hiding behind false information,” he said.
“This will enhance the UK’s reputation as a great and safe place to do business.”