
Tuesday 11 February 2025
9.15 – 11.05am
Venue: Online
Topic: 'Do you keep good Company - Company House Reforms and all that!'
Speakers from the Home Office, and Insolvency Service, who have the remit for prosecuting some 78 of the 105 new offences of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, will discuss the reasons for the Act and how the offences are being rolled out and what it means to you as a professional and your companies.
AGENDA
09.15
|
Registration, Welcome and Introduction
|
09.20
|
Siobhan Knight, Senior Criminal Lawyer, The Insolvency Service
Topic: New Companies House Criminal Offences
|
09.50
|
Matthew Ray, Director, Economic Crime Reform Implementation, The Insolvency Service
Topic: To cover the genesis of the reforms, the key changes ECCTA makes to the companies act, and briefly set out where the ongoing programme of reform at CH and accompanying secondary regs is up to, and why ECRIU has been created.
|
10.20
|
Comfort Break
|
10.25
|
Penny Dunbabin, Home Office
Topic: Failure to Prevent Fraud reforms
|
11.00
|
Summary and Close
|
Speaker details:
Siobhan Knight, Senior Criminal Lawyer, The Insolvency Service
Siobhan is a Senior Criminal Lawyer at the Insolvency Service and is leading work in respect of the rolling out of 78 new offences which have been brought in through the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 that the Insolvency Service have responsibility for prosecuting. Alongside this, Siobhan deals with the agency’s most complex prosecutions aimed at tackling financial wrongdoing. This covers a range of offending primarily under the Companies Act 2006, the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 and the Insolvency Act 1986 but can also include offences under the Fraud Act 2006, the Theft Act 1968, and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Prior to Siobhan’s work as a prosecutor, she spent several years in criminal defence and has been practising in criminal law for over 20 years.
Matthew Ray, Director, Economic Crime Reform Implementation, The Insolvency Service
Matt is Director for Economic Crime Reform Implementation at the Insolvency Service, where he is leading work to define the Agency’s role on fraud and money laundering within a wider new enforcement strategy. From 2016 to 2024 he was the Senior Civil Servant at the Department for Business and Trade with policy responsibility for core elements of UK company law, including reform of Companies House and related measures to tackle the misuse of corporate entities in economic crime. He was responsible for overseeing the preparation and passage through Parliament of the two Economic Crime Acts of 2022 and 2023, working in partnership with the Home Office.
Prior to 2016 Matt had previously spent seven years as a senior advisor at HM Treasury, majoring on tax, welfare and energy policy. From 2017 to 2023 he was also Chair of the UK Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative – which sets standards for governance and transparency in oil, gas and mining sectors worldwide. Matt is a chartered accountant (FCA) and holds a degree from Oxford University.
Penny Dunbabin, Home Office
I have spent most of my career in the energy sector, firstly as an engineer and then in providing scientific advice for policy development in renewables and nuclear decommissioning. This included policy work for primary and secondary legislation. During covid, I understood a two placements with the Economic Crime team in BEIS, firstly working on one of the consultations to expand the powers of the Companies House Registrar and secondly working on project planning for the secondary legislation programme for the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
I joined the Home Office in 2023 and was responsible for writing the guidance for the offence of failure to prevent fraud. This included an informal consultation with over 50 Government departments, regulators and arms length bodies and over 100 industry representatives, including 38 trade bodies and a number of professional bodies who circulated to their members.
I am now working on developing policy to protect businesses against fraud.
Audience participation is, as always, most welcome and encouraged!