Covid-19 Economic Crime Tracker

Soon after a global pandemic was announced in March 2020, it became clear that the international response to Coronavirus also came with a major economic crime threat. We therefore started recording all news articles, academic publications and statements by...

Government must get a grip on conflicts of interest in public procurement or risk losing the UKs reputation as a fair place to do business

Last week’s much anticipated National Audit Office report into the government’s handling of emergency procurement during COVID-19 effectively corroborated widespread allegations of cronyism in the dishing out of PPE contracts. The report, covered extensively in the...

Cleaning up the audit sector: why the government should consider banning Ernst & Young from public contracts

16th November On Friday 13th November, Spotlight on Corruption wrote to the government’s procurement body, the Crown Commercial Service, asking it to review whether the accountancy firm Ernst & Young (EY) should be banned from bidding on public contracts for...

The UK’s corporate crime rules – why urgent change is needed

Summary The Law Commission’s recent announcement that it will review corporate crime rules is a welcome and important step towards reforming the UK’s antiquated principle for prosecuting companies; The government has given the Law Commission until the end of 2021 to...

What can we learn from COVID-19 loan transparency in the United States?

Publishing the names of COVID-19 loan recipients could be a crucial way of recouping billions of pounds lost to fraud and wrongful claims. Last week, the National Audit Office (NAO) published a report into the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) that revealed the taxpayer...

FinCEN Files: UK’s failure to prosecute high-end money laundering shows UK banks are above the law

21 September 2020 The release of the FinCEN files exposes the role of big banks in facilitating money laundering as well as demonstrating how UK banks are beyond the reaches of the law. For the past few years, the government has focused almost exclusively on...

Blind Trusts: are they enough to avoid conflicts of interest?

16 September 2020 The Guardian reported on the 3rd September that Lord Agnew had relinquished control over his shares in Faculty Science after Spotlight on Corruption and several media outlets flagged a potential conflict of interest between his position in government...

Unaoil – a very complicated win for the Serious Fraud Office

13 July 2020 In a much-needed win for the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, two out of three of those it was prosecuting for corruption in the Unaoil case were found guilty. The case has exposed some ugly competition between global enforcement agencies, and some alarming...

New report: Weak Link or first line of defence? The role of UK Export Finance in fighting corruption in a post-coronavirus and post-brexit trade drive

Spotlight on Corruption is today releasing a major new report on the role of UK Export Finance (UKEF) in fighting corruption in the UK’s post-Brexit and post-coronavirus trade drive. UKEF is a government agency that provides taxpayer support to underwrite the majority...

The NCA’s Kazakh Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) – a costly decision?

1 July 2020 On 17 June 2020, Lady Justice Carr unequivocally refused the National Crime Agency’s (“NCA”) application for permission to appeal. The NCA had sought to challenge Justice Lang’s decision to discharge the unexplained wealth orders (“UWO”) against the Aliyev...

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