Register of Overseas Entities and Registry Reform – Two Peas in a Pod?

In 2022, two bills of similar name were introduced into the UK parliament.

These were:

• the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill 2022-23 which subsequently became law as the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022; and
• the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill 2022-23 which has, at the date of writing, not yet become law.

On this page, we link together our Insights articles to make it easier to navigate the materials which cover many different areas of the law.

Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022

The bill was introduced into the House of Commons on 1 March 2022 and, after being expedited in its parliamentary progress, received Royal Assent on 15 March 2022.

The Act creates the Register of Overseas Entities and makes important changes to the UK’s sanctions regime following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022. The Register is created by Part 1 of the Act, while the sanctions regime is enhanced by Parts 2 and 3.

Relevant Insights articles:

• A practical guide to the Register of Overseas Entities
• The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill 2022

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill 2022-23

The bill was introduced into the House of Commons on 22 September 2022 and, as at the date of writing, has not completed its parliamentary progress.

The bill is the second part of a package of measures intended to prevent the abuse of UK corporate structures and to tackle economic crime.

One of the bill’s main features is to give the Registrar of Companies greater investigatory powers in the verification of information provided to it. However, the bill will do much more.

Relevant Insights articles:

• Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill – criminal law aspects
• The EC&CT Bill – changing the Limited Partnership Act
• The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act
• An economic crime bill or an “economic warfare” bill?
• Register reform
• The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill 2022