Spotlight on Corruption has published a report titled 'Power Without Responsibility: The state of senior executive accountability for economic crime in the UK today'. Spotlight have commented that the report shows that senior executives in large British companies have engaged in economic crime, financial wrongdoing and regulatory breaches without facing consequences. Furthermore, Spotlight have commented that the regulatory bodies responsible for economic and financial crime are struggling to prosecute senior executive. Spotlight have highlighted that: only 6% of investigations under the Senior Managers regime have resulted in enforcement action, the Competition and Markets Authority has failed to prosecute senior executives following 11 prosecutions, the Serious Fraud Office achieved two convictions following 20 enforcement actions, the Financial Conduct Authority took one regulatory action following 17 fines on banks for money laundering and directors from small to medium-sized enterprises are more likely to face conviction, regulatory fines and bans than senior executives in large firms. The report sets out nine recommendations to improve accountability for senior executives including the introduction of a new criminal offence to bring senior executives to justice and creating a task force to ensure that different regulators work together to formulate a coherent prosecution strategy.

Spotlight on Corruption has published a report on the need to rethink how fines and criminal assets are allocated back to law enforcement for the UK to demonstrate its commitment to accelerating asset recovery and regaining its leadership role on the global stage. The report covers key findings, recommendations, and important statistics. It argues that creating an Economic Crime Fighting Fund, building on its strengths but addressing its shortcomings by revamping the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme, would create a virtuous circle where reinvested assets generate better criminal justice outcomes, more funds for victim compensation, and greater recovery of criminal assets.

Spotlight on Corruption has published its response to HM Treasury’s (HMT) consultation on reforms to anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing supervision. It supports consolidating oversight of professional services firms under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), while urging stronger enforcement powers, including criminal prosecution under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002), the imposition of high-value fines for serious non-compliance and minor fines for routine breaches. Spotlight on Corruption also supports proposals for FCA-maintained public registers of supervised firms and the extension of uniform fit and proper tests to professional services firms. It further calls for stronger FCA powers to identify unregistered firms carrying out regulated activity and to close enforcement gaps, citing the limited use of criminal sanctions under MLRs to date. Spotlight on Corruption also calls for a new corporate offence of failure to prevent money laundering (FTP), enhanced whistleblower protections and clearer guidance on which activities fall within the scope of AML regulation, while stressing that effective transition arrangements and robust FCA governance are essential to address systemic weaknesses and safeguard the UK’s financial integrity.

Spotlight on Corruption has published its submission to the Home Office's consultation on economic crime information sharing, which closed in May 2026. The submission highlights the legal and cultural barriers that limit effective information sharing between the public and private sectors and sets out proposals to improve information sharing in the fight against economic crime. It calls for a stronger suspicious activity reporting (SAR) regime, safeguards against the misapplication or abuse of legal privilege to obstruct information sharing or suspicious activity reporting, improved information sharing with the Electoral Commission and a broad legal gateway enabling supervisors to share relevant information with authorities. The submission also proposes enhanced cross-border information sharing through harmonised SAR reporting, greater accountability for Mutual Legal Assistance requests and the creation of an international network of anti-money laundering (AML) regulators.

Spotlight on Corruption has published its submission of written evidence to the Treasury Select Committee’s inquiry on whether the UK’s financial sanctions on Russia are working. The written evidence focuses on current gaps in the sanctions on Russia; the UK’s sanctions regimes’ resilience when facing legal challenges; seizing assets from proceeds of evasions of sanctions; problems with the licencing regime of the UK sanctions and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s enforcement record so far.

Spotlight on Corruption has published its submission answering specific questions in relation to HM Treasury’s (HMT) consultation on improving the effectiveness of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR). Spotlight on Corruption have provided responses to questions  in relation to: general triggers of enhanced due diligence; ‘complex or unusually large’ transactions; high risk third countries; information sharing between supervisors and other public bodies; cooperation with Companies House; regard for the National Risk Assessment (NRA); system prioritisation and the NRA; regulation of resale of companies and off the shelf companies by trust of company service providers (TCSP); and, registration of non-UK express trusts with no UK trustees, that own UK land.

Spotlight on Corruption has released a manifesto setting out five consensus areas where improved anti-corruption measures can help address environmental harm. The manifesto, endorsed by 30 civil society organisations, outlines several recommendations for the government, including: (1) making more effective use of existing laws and regulations to address corruption and money laundering that enable environmental harm; (2) supporting national platforms to track climate finance, alongside enhanced reporting standards and transparency; (3) introducing comprehensive protections for whistleblowers. It also calls for reforms to the lobbying regime to prevent vested interests from delaying the transition to cleaner energy.

Spotlight on Corruption has reported that Nathan Gill, Reform UK’s former leader in Wales, has pleaded guilty to eight out of nine charges under the Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010). Gill admitted receiving corrupt payments between December 2018–July 2019 in exchange for making pro-Russia statements while serving as a UK Independence Party Member of the European Parliament. The prosecution alleged he received bribes from Oleg Voloshyn, a former Ukrainian official under pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. Gill will be sentenced on 21 November 2025.

Spotlight on Corruption has published a report reviewing the latest statutory anti-money laundering (AML) reports from legal sector supervisors, following its 2022 investigation which identified significant supervisory shortcomings. Its analysis reveals persistent concerns about the effectiveness of AML supervision in the legal sector, with previous findings of high non-compliance rates and insufficient enforcement action remaining unaddressed. Despite the Office for Professional Body AML Supervision's (OPBAS) mandate, it has not achieved the necessary improvements in supervisory standards. While the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recently increased enforcement activities, the overall findings suggest that fundamental reform of the legal sector's AML supervisory framework remains necessary to address systemic weaknesses in preventing lawyers from facilitating money laundering activities.

Spotlight on Corruption has published its response to the Court of Appeal decision in World Uyghur Congress, R (on the application of) v National Crime Agency [2024] EWCA Civ 715, which overturned a 2023 High Court decision. Spotlight on Corruption has stated that the original High Court decision undermined the UK’s anti-money laundering regime and welcomed the 'landmark' decision of the Court of Appeal. The decision confirms that the National Crime Agency does not need to identify specific evidence before an investigation can be opened and that paying market value for criminal property does not remove the criminal nature of the property.

Spotlight on Corruption has published five anti-corruption priorities for new Prime Minister (PM), Andy Burnham, including implementing the December 2025 Anti-Corruption Strategy which contains 123 commitments but is without clear timelines, hosting the December 2026 Illicit Finance Summit, making the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) an anti-money laundering super-regulator for professional services, reforming Crown Court economic crime proceedings which represent 1.8% of cases but 9% of the backlog, and improving asset recovery from its current 28% permanent recovery rate.

Spotlight on Corruption has reported that prosecutions and convictions for corruption and economic crime offences in England and Wales increased in 2024–25. Misconduct in public office prosecutions more than doubled, while prosecutions for abuse of position, money laundering and fraud also rose compared with the previous year. The organisation links this increase to greater enforcement activity, including the establishment of the City of London Police’s Domestic Corruption Unit and additional government investment in economic crime enforcement. However, it notes that fraud prosecutions remain well below historic levels despite fraud accounting for a significant proportion of crime, and argues that proposed reforms to misconduct in public office may not adequately address corruption involving senior public officials and public contractors.