{"id":10631,"date":"2023-07-13T10:28:50","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T09:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxpolicy.org.uk\/?p=10631"},"modified":"2023-07-13T13:52:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T12:52:00","slug":"robot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heacham.neidles.com\/2023\/07\/13\/robot\/","title":{"rendered":"Companies House is a giant fraud robot. Will the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill stop it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Companies House’s rules were created in an era of trust, where incorporating a company took time and expertise. Automation made incorporating a company much faster and easier – but the rules didn’t change. That means Companies House ends up facilitating large-scale frauds<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill introduces ID verification requirements, and creates a new investigative and enforcement role for Companies House. Much will depend on how Companies House adapts to that new role. But there are also key vulnerabilities that the Bill does not remove: the “false registered office” fraud, the “dissolve within a year” loophole and the “muppet director” fraud.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Blaming Companies House for its failings is like blaming a traffic light for turning red. It’s just following its programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The programming is in the Companies Act 2006 – here’s the key section<\/a> stating what you have to provide to create a company:<\/p>\n\n\n\nCompanies House is just a robot<\/h2>\n\n\n