A New Phase for the UK’s Anti-Corruption Landscape

Guest article, written by Rachael Tiffen, Director of Public Sector and Learning at the UK's leading fraud prevention service, Cifas

Around £100 billion in ‘dirty money’ reportedly flows through the UK’s financial systems every year – a scale of corruption that undermines our economic resilience, erodes public trust, and exposes serious weaknesses in our national defences.

Crucially, corruption rarely exists in isolation. Its enablers and methods frequently intersect with fraud and organised criminality, creating complex networks that exploit gaps in controls and take advantage of siloed systems.

Strengthening the UK’s response therefore requires a joined‑up approach to fraud and corruption prevention – supported by skilled people who can spot red flags early and act with confidence.

The scale of this challenge has never been greater. Fraud costs the UK around £14.4 billion annually and remains one of the biggest threats in England and Wales – accounting for 45% of all crime.

However, there has been a national response – a significant one at that.

Launched within months of each other, the UK Government’s Fraud Strategy and the UK Anti-Corruption Strategy together signal a renewed, system‑wide effort to tackle longstanding economic threats. Following the publication of the UK Anti‑Corruption Strategy in December 2025, the Fraud Strategy further reinforced the need for a coordinated, intelligence‑driven and prevention‑focused approach across sectors.

Zoning in on the UK Anti‑Corruption Strategy, this in particular sets out a decisive shift in how the UK addresses corruption at home and abroad. Its ambition is to reduce harm, strengthen democratic resilience, and safeguard the UK’s economic and strategic interests – here’s how…

1. Combatting corrupt actors

The first pillar of the strategy focuses on the pursuit of the individuals and networks responsible for bribery, fraud, illicit finance, and abuse of corporate structures. Notably, this includes pursuing ‘professional enablers’ who make these crimes possible.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) is pivotal here via the Failure to Prevent Fraud Offence – shifting focus for organisations from reactive measures to proactive prevention. This aligns fraud and corruption responsibilities more closely with modern compliance requirements – demanding clear governance, effective risk assessments, and demonstrable controls. Enhanced identity verification reform at Companies House is further reinforcing this shift by reducing the ability for shell companies, false identities, and corporate abuse to underpin corrupt schemes.

2. Tackling UK vulnerabilities

Domestically, the strategy prioritises strengthening standards of integrity across public life, with commitments including:

• A mandatory Code of Conduct for elected local Government officials
• Greater transparency in procurement and stronger checks throughout the contract process
• Annual corruption risk reporting by local authorities
• Reinstated local audit oversight to improve assurance
• Strengthened whistleblowing frameworks to support safe reporting

Crucially, this pillar underpins the vital nature of a robust organisational culture. Corruption and fraud thrive where controls are weak, accountability is unclear, and individuals lack the confidence or awareness to challenge suspicious activity. Building integrity therefore requires more than policies – it depends on leadership, good governance, and ongoing professional development.

3. Building global resilience

Corruption is transnational and the strategy commits the UK to strengthening key areas. These include international partnerships, improving transparency over who really owns and controls companies, and modernising standards around corporate structures. In addition, the strategy aims to expand intelligence sharing so corrupt actors find it harder to hide assets, move illicit funds, or operate across borders.

This reflects the reality that fraud and corruption networks operate without regard for jurisdictional boundaries. Effective prevention and disruption increasingly require international collaboration, aligned standards, and interoperable systems.

The importance of technology, data and intelligence sharing

A defining strength of the strategy is its focus on secure intelligence sharing. Corruption and fraud networks exploit fragmented systems, so it is essential to close such gaps. Commitments include:

• Secure, cross-Government data sharing
• Greater use of beneficial ownership information
• Integration with enforcement datasets such as the Police National Database
• Alignment between regulators, law enforcement, and local Government
• Leveraging AI and analytics to identify anomalies and accelerate investigations

Technology – when paired with skilled practitioners – enables faster detection of suspicious behaviour, unusual transactional patterns, conflicts of interest, and procurement anomalies that might otherwise go unnoticed.

While all of this is important, the strategy’s effectiveness relies on different firms and industries working together. Through collaboration and the sharing of cross-sector data and intelligence, the UK will be in a stronger position to close the gap on criminal individuals and networks.

Local Government on the front line

Councils in particular may face corruption risks that are low frequency but high impact – for example, procurement, planning decisions, grant allocation, and governance of devolved structures. Therefore, the strategy expects authorities to:

• Embed a strong Code of Conduct
• Maintain rigorous procurement controls
• Report corruption risks annually
• Strengthen oversight of devolved powers
• Foster a culture of integrity, transparency and accountability
• Undertake counter-bribery and anti-corruption training

This aligns closely with fraud prevention priorities – where early detection and strong internal controls are essential for resilience.

Building the capability to deliver the strategy

For the strategy to succeed, capability must also increase across the public sector – not only within enforcement agencies but across all organisations with corruption or fraud exposure. This is where training becomes critical.

Employees are often the first line of defence. Without the workforce skills to recognise red flags, understand evolving criminal methodologies, and challenge poor practice, even the most robust policies can falter. High-quality development programmes – including counter‑fraud and counter‑corruption qualifications, fraud prevention masterclasses, insider threat awareness training, and behavioural‑based learning – equip staff with the tools to prevent, detect, and report wrongdoing early.

Alongside this, screening tools and insider threat databases support stronger recruitment, vetting, and workforce management – vital for reducing opportunities for corruption and fraud to take hold.

A more collaborative future

The UK Anti‑Corruption Strategy represents an ambitious step forward. By reinforcing prevention duties, enhancing transparency, strengthening enforcement and embedding data and intelligence sharing, it sets out a more connected, technology-enabled approach to safeguarding the UK’s interests. And by investing in the critical skills, knowledge, and confidence, organisations are in a far stronger position to stop criminal practices at the source.

To build on your workforce’s counter bribery and corruption knowledge, book onto the Cifas Fraud and Cyber Academy's Professional Certificate in Counter Bribery and Corruption course.

Plus, upskill your teams through Cifas’ Apollo digital learning programme which delivers immersive, engaging fraud awareness training for all staff. Apollo is currently available at a discount for local authorities.