UK Insolvency Service: new broader role to fight economic crime

The Insolvency Service (IS) recently published its five-year Investigations and Enforcement Strategy explicitly targeting increased enforcement and sanctions against economic crime. 

Background

The IS in the UK is charged with upholding insolvency and company law standards and, amongst other things, investigating related financial misconduct.

The introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act in 2023 expanded the IS's enforcement responsibilities and allowed for growth in its capabilities. Given the constantly changing nature of economic crime and the recent reform of Companies House, the IS plans to play a more prominent role in the fight against economic crime.

Objectives

The IS strategy sets out three core objectives:

• Enforcement of the UK's insolvency framework – this will underline the vital contribution which active enforcement makes in upholding standards. 
• Enforcement of the Companies Act and associated legislation – the IS intends to work closely with Companies House to support their work in upholding corporate standards.
• Tackling economic crime facilitated through companies – the IS will utilise its powers to tackle poor employment practices, educate directors on their duties and address misconduct.

Key takeaways 

The IS's investigation and enforcement strategy aims to help maintain trust in the UK as a safe and reliable place to invest and do business. 

In particular, the IS will tackle money laundering and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence and crypto, appointing its first dedicated crypto intelligence specialist (see more here). 

Find out more

To discuss the issues raised in this article in more detail, please contact a member of our Restructuring and Insolvency team.