Unseen Money 10: The UK—open for (dodgy) business

The UK’s company formation process is fast, easy and cheap. The net result of being open to almost any business is that up to half the companies on the UK’s Companies House register may have no legitimate purpose. Instead, those companies are used by fraudsters as a vital tool in scams and money laundering schemes. Many are set up using fake identities and addresses. Often, they break the reporting rules and never file accounts. And Companies House has become a honeypot for organised crime groups from around the world.In the latest episode of the Unseen Money podcast, Timur Yunusov and I are joined by dark money expert Graham Barrow, who has exposed some of the worst failings of the UK’s company formation regime.Belatedly, the UK government is acting to address those failings. But will new legislation go far and fast enough? Listen to the podcast to find out.