Even the best anti-corruption laws are useless if they aren’t enforced. That’s why Spotlight advocates robustly for increased funding of the UK’s economic crime fighting agencies.
In January 2022, Spotlight produced a detailed report on UK law enforcement resourcing, Closing the UK’s Economic Crime Enforcement Gap. The result of six months of research, the report was widely reported by the media including on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours, in the Financial Times, and in a film produced by the Economist. It has been regularly cited in Parliament since, including in two parliamentary reports and more than a dozen parliamentary debates.
We have also closely monitored how effective one of the UK’s top corruption fighting bodies – the Serious Fraud Office – is in practice. From an opinion piece in the Financial Times, to press commentary, and parliamentary briefings, we have consistently pushed for more resourcing for the agency to enhance its powers and effectiveness as a key part of the enforcement landscape.
This case study is taken from our 2022-23 Impact Report which can be downloaded here.