UK enforcement – from 58,500 GBP to 1250 GBP in fees

The Guardian published an article which was quite eye-opening regarding fines against businesses which have not provided correct or complete information to the Company House, a UK agency impowered to crack down on corruption.  “The UK government agency responsible for overseeing a national register of companies has collected just £1,250 in fines after being given new powers to crack down on corruption, it has emerged”.  This does not seem to be a significant amount and certainly would not have a deterrent effect. What is even more unfortunate is that possibly up to 20% of the 4.9 million companies registered have provided incorrect information. The Company House has the power to levy fines and enforce collections of these violations, and since October of last year, 234 penalties have been issued, with a combined value of £58,500. This is laudable but only 2% have been collected, which is an embarrassingly low amount.

What does this mean and what can be done? Obviously, this is a start, but the UK government needs to be realistic and determine how to move forward. Certainly, such poor enforcement sends a message, that corrupt actors don’t need to worry. More public attention is necessary and stronger enforcement mechanisms need to be considered. For now, this is a start.

Link:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/apr/06/companies-house-uk-fines-corruption-crackdown