Push in UK for crackdown on ‘£12 companies’ and their mystery backers
- Campaigners and MPs push for changes to UK company registrations, which cost £12 without need for proof of identity
- In one case, a flat in an England town was listed as the address for hundreds of UK company registrations with China links
The UK government is coming under pressure to crack down on company registrations amid concerns Britain has become a hub for shell businesses that can be set up cheaply by people whose identity isn’t clear.
The UK has a reputation as a hub for money laundering – particularly “laundromat London” for the vast amount of corrupt wealth parked in the city.
Under UK current rules, anyone can set up a company in the UK for just £12 (US$16), without proof of identity or address. Companies House, the government agency tasked with registering new enterprises, has no jurisdiction, nor the resources to verify the information provided.
Having a UK address potentially makes it easier to set up a bank account, experts say.
“UK companies are a global problem,” Duncan Hames, Director of Policy at Transparency International UK told the House of Commons’ Treasury Select Committee recently.
Transparency International said it had identified 929 UK companies linked to 89 cases of alleged corruption and money laundering worth £137 billion (US$183 billion).
