Until April 2024, Companies House had limited powers to check the validity of information provided to it by registered companies. It also had limited enforcement and intelligence–gathering powers, and limited scope to share data with other public bodies. The lack of checks meant it was easy for fraudsters to set up legitimate UK companies for illegitimate means.48 Written evidence we received from RAVAS said that flaws in the verification systems operated by Companies House and HMRC have enab...

Until April 2024, Companies House had limited powers to check the validity of information provided to it by registered companies. It also had limited enforcement and intelligence–gathering powers, and limited scope to share data with other public bodies. The lack of checks meant it was easy for fraudsters to set up legitimate UK companies for illegitimate means.48 Written evidence we received from RAVAS said that flaws in the verification systems operated by Companies House and HMRC have enabled bad actors to obtain UK company registrations and VAT numbers which can be used to pursue fraudulent behaviour.49 In its Strategic Intelligence Asses Type: conclusion | Number: 17 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: November 2025 4.2 The government accepts the case for exploring options to improve the authenticity and integrity of company address information on the register. 4.3 Alread