INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Deepak Vij, ABV Solicitors
relating to money laundering and, most significantly, reforms to Companies House. ECCTA has provided Companies House with the ability to expand its pow - ers to verify directors’ identities, query suspicious fil - ings and strike off dormant and/or fraudulent entities. This has been hailed as the most substantial trans - formation in corporate regulation the UK has seen in decades. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has now become the single supervisor for AML/CTF for pro - fessional services including lawyers and account - ants. The Insolvency Service has also announced its strategy for tackling economic crime by expanding its investigative and prosecutorial functions and working closely with Companies House and HMRC through a referral relationship in co-ordination with the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC). The City of London Police’s Domestic Corruption Unit is piloting state-of-the-art, AI-enabled “corrup - tion investigation assistants” to assist the regional and local police and speed up investigations. These UK domestic reforms coincide with reforms in other jurisdictions across the globe. The trend is famil - iar. Combatting financial crime requires more account - ability and more governance by corporations. USA The USA has always seemed to be at the forefront of legislative reform to tackle financial crime, and other countries have followed suit. Recent reforms include the False Claims Act, which has prioritised financial crime and white-collar crime enforcement, particularly in relation to healthcare fraud, government contracting, tariffs and customs duties. The US administration has prioritised holding company executives and employees accountable for fraud, which is similar to the UK’s “failure to prevent fraud” offence under the ECCTA. The US DOJ has also recently revised its Foreign Cor - rupt Practices Act (FCPA) guidance and amplified its collaboration with its European counterparts through a new task force and its recent accession to the Interna - tional Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre. The FCPA
seeks to target conduct that directly undermines US national interests and to pursue those suspected of bribery “that facilitates the criminal operations of Car - tels and [transnational criminal organisations]”. This extends to potential companies operating in “Territo - ries dominated by Cartels, criminal gangs, and other transnational criminal organisations” that “threaten the erosion of their rule of law and economic growth”. Greece In order to deal with financial crime, Greece has recently updated its legislation to focus on compli - ance, making “obliged entities” report suspicious activities and comply with detailed KYC due diligence to the Anti-Money Laundering Authority. A failure to do so could involve significant fines and even being held liable as an accomplice. Updated legislation in rela - tion to combatting tax evasion has also been a recent priority for this jurisdiction. Portugal Likewise, Portugal has undergone recent develop - ment to its legal framework to align with its European neighbours in respect of the prevention of corruption. Its Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2025–2030 seeks to entrench a culture of transparency and accountability. Its Regime Geral de Prevenção da Corrupção (RGPC) marks a significant advance towards a more co- ordinated and preventive anti-corruption framework, adopting more robust compliance systems. Switzerland Switzerland has also undertaken several significant legislative and reform initiatives in financial crime. The revision of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), which has been under discussion for several years, and is expected to enter into force in the second half of 2026, aims to extend AML obligations to certain non-financial sector activities, including the real estate sector and the advisory services of lawyers. The proposed amendments also seek to strengthen beneficial ownership transparency requirements. The reform process has generated considerable debate within the legal profession, particularly regarding the balance between transparency objectives and profes - sional secrecy.
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