By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
COMPANIES should increasingly use the UK’s ECCTA (Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act) to share data on suspected financial crime, according to a senior leader in the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority).
Beth Harris, Head of Department at the regulator, warned that without information sharing, businesses “typically see only a fragment of the story”.
“That is why the information-sharing provisions introduced through the ECCTA matter are supported by the Financial Conduct Authority,” she said in a new article on LinkedIn.
“They provide a clearer pathway for firms to share intelligence that can help prevent, detect and investigate financial crime.”
The ECCTA is a major UK law introduced in 2024 designed to fight financial crime. Its various reforms include giving the Companies House increased powers to protect against the use of shell entities and creating a “failure to prevent fraud” offence.
Additionally, the ECCTA created a legal gateway allowing firms to share customer data without facing civil liability claims, once it is being used to investigate or prevent financial crime.
However, analysts have said that data sharing via the ECCTA remains ‘underused’. This is attributed to the ‘novelty’ of the new laws and a ‘culture of caution’ around sharing customer information.
However, Ms Harris said the ECCTA can ‘break down barriers’ and help prevent financial crime.
“If we want to make a meaningful impact on fraud, money laundering and wider financial crime, we must all work together” she said.
“Responsible information sharing is not just a regulatory opportunity. It is a necessity.”
She added: “The more firms participate, the more valuable the intelligence becomes. The more intelligence we share, the harder we make it for criminals to operate.
So please use ECCTA. Share intelligence. Help to fight financial crime.”
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