The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Insolvency Service will be sharing information so they can better tackle corporate and financial misconduct and crime.
The two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in January, which was published today (21 May) on their websites.
This establishes a framework of co-operation between the two enforcement bodies and commits the FCA and Insolvency Service to share relevant information in a timely manner, as well as robust coordination of enforcement activities where appropriate.
The document stated there is an inherent public interest in the Insolvency Service and the FCA “robustly using their powers to tackle corporate and financial misconduct and the commission of financial crime”.
“Information sharing wherever possible and appropriate will assist both organisations to meet this objective,” it added.
The new cooperation between the two organisations is a consequence of the government’s green paper on corporate governance, published in 2016, which outlined measures to strengthen the UK’s corporate governance framework.
Part of that saw the government call for greater co-ordination between the FCA and the Insolvency Service.
Sarah Albon, chief executive of the Insolvency Service, said: “While we conduct different activities and have different responsibilities, the Insolvency Service shares similar objectives with the FCA when it comes to tackling financial wrong-doing.
“The MoU firmly establishes our relationship with the FCA and going forward we will endeavour to work closer together in order to put a stop to those companies and individuals who pay scant regard to the law and hurt economic confidence.”
maria.espadinha@ft.com
