Major amendments on the horizon: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is anticipated to be granted royal assent on October 26, 2023.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is a piece of legislation designed to address economic crime and enhance corporate transparency in the United Kingdom. It includes various measures aimed at preventing and combatting money laundering, fraud, and other forms of economic crime. It may also involve measures to increase the transparency of beneficial ownership information for companies and improve anti-money laundering efforts.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is set to introduce several significant changes, including:

• reforms to Companies House

• measures to prevent the misuse of limited partnerships.

• additional powers to seize and recover suspected criminal crypto-assets

• reforms to give businesses more confidence to v. share information in order to tackle money laundering and other economic crime

• new intelligence gathering powers for law enforcement and removal of nugatory burdens on business

How the Bill is going to create an impact on Crypto assets?

The Bill is designed to empower law enforcement agencies with greater capabilities to promptly and effectively seize and recover crypto-assets that have been acquired through criminal activities or are connected to unlawful actions such as money laundering, fraud, or ransomware attacks.

To achieve this, the Bill will introduce significant changes within the existing legal framework i.e., under Proceeds of Crime Act, 2002, specifically focusing on two key areas:

1. Criminal Confiscation Powers: This part of the Bill will make important amendments to the legal provisions outlined in Parts 2, 3, and 4 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). These changes will provide law enforcement agencies with improved tools and authority to tackle crypto-assets associated with criminal activities. For instance, it might include streamlining the process of identifying and seizing crypto-assets linked to illegal activities.

2. Civil Recovery Powers: Another critical aspect of the Bill is the modification of civil recovery powers described in Part 5 of POCA. These amendments will equip enforcement agencies with better mechanisms for addressing the criminal use of cryptocurrency assets, particularly in cases where civil remedies are more appropriate than criminal prosecution.

In summary, the Bill's objective is to strengthen the legal framework surrounding cryptocurrency assets, making it more robust and responsive to the challenges posed by criminals who use digital currencies for illicit purposes. These changes will enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies in combatting financial crimes involving crypto-assets.