Select committee: Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 15
Second report - The cost of complacency: illicit finance and the war in Ukraine
Published 30 Jun 2022
Paragraph 38
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Foreign Affairs Committee Responding to illicit and emerging finance All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The FCDO has vast experience, through the merger with DFID, of running illicit finance programmes internationally and gathering critical intelligence to assess security risks. The FCDO should be present at the table in international fora on illicit finance, such as the Financial Action Task Force. Appointing a Minister for Economic Security with cross-Whitehall responsibility for the multiple strands of work on countering corruption would go some way to demonstrating the Government’s commitment to ending kleptocracy in the UK. It would provide meaningful accountability to Parliament for delivery of a comprehensive strategy. The Government should study lessons from US legislation such as the ENABLERS Bill currently before Congress, and the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for protections which could be aligned with UK legislation.
From: Foreign Affairs Committee, Second report - The cost of complacency: illicit finance and the war in Ukraine (HC 168), paragraph 38, 30 June 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 26 October 2022.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it is "not complacent about the threat" and, while it agrees with the Committee on several recommendations, it "notes" many others and rejects the Committee's call for public beneficial ownership registers in the Overseas Territories by early 2023.
- On Companies House reform, it "agrees with the Committee's conclusion" and says the reforms, including identity verification and broader Registrar powers, will be legislated for in the upcoming Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill.
- On Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, it "does not accept" that work on public registers is delayed and expects them "by the end of 2023"; bringing the deadline forward to early 2023 "would not be achievable".
- On funding for law enforcement, it "notes this conclusion" and points to a package of "circa £400 million" to tackle economic crime over three years.
- On the Tier 1 Investor visa review, it "notes this recommendation", says the review "is being finalised" and that its aim is to publish it "in the near future".