As a regular user of Companies House, this author believes the database needs more than some make-up. It needs a major overhaul. Companies House makes the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s EDGAR system look like a supermodel in comparison. That’s a heavy lift.
From posting documents with opaque information or data that is long out of date, it would not be that difficult to improve. It just needs some motivation from the government mandarins.
Today, Companies House has announced it will now require filers to actually prove who they are. No more shills and shams, as identity verification will now be required for the following:
- New directors and people with significant control (PSCs)
- Existing directors and PSCs
- Anyone acting on behalf of a company
This is not an unreasonable request. What is surprising is that this took so long to address.
Goring forward, Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs), entities that can review information to counter nefarious activity like money laundering, will be utilized to validate a user.
Marko Maras, CEO of Trustfull, says that verification of directors on Companies House is long overdue. He says that poor security on the platform have enabled criminals to use fake or stolen identities to set up companies and file bogus documents. Maras says this is a step in the right direction.
“However, the devil is in the details. This new plan presents a key opportunity to crack down on fraud, money laundering, and financial crime in general, not only on Companies House but also more broadly across the UK, making it essential to get it right,” says Maras. “Nowadays, it’s all too easy for fraudsters to use generative AI to create ID documents or purchase stolen identities on the dark web. Therefore, identity verification steps need to be designed in a way that users uploading their information to get verified are who they claim to be.”
Maras believes that if the verification process is not rigorous enough, the bad guys will just up their game.
While, validatating identity is an important step in improving the platform, Companies House has a long ways to go to becoming an effective public service.