UK government establishes pilot domestic corruption unit

The government has repeatedly said that it will do more to tackle corruption. Recent announcements, including the establishment of a new pilot Domestic Corruption Unit, suggests there may be real commitment behind the headlines, according to anti-corruption law experts at Pinsent Masons.

The new enforcement body, set up by the Home Office and the City of London Police, is designed to enhance intelligence development capabilities and provide useful insights into the corruption landscape and threat in the UK. It will lead proactive investigations, providing “much needed capacity and a dedicated response in areas where previously this has been lacking”, said the UK’s security minister Dan Jarvis at the UK Finance Economic Crime Congress held in London recently.

The minister acknowledged at the event that the current understanding of the true nature of the corruption threat in the UK is still limited, and the UK’s response to corruption suffers from a variety of challenges and problems due to the hidden nature of corruption and the complexity of cases.

According to the minister, there is a concerning gap between the high number of estimated bribes and the low level of recorded corruption and bribery offences. The Home Office’s 2020 Economic Crime Survey estimated that there could have been as many as 130,000 bribes in the previous three years offered to UK businesses across seven key sectors. However, police in England and Wales recorded just 169 corruption offences in the year ending June 2024, and only 19 of these cases were bribery offences.

In response to these challenges, the unit aims to bring together the different pieces of the regulatory and enforcement system, such as national agencies, local forces, and devolved policing bodies, and ensure they work in unison to bring corrupt individuals to justice.

The new unit is a central part of the anti-corruption strategy the government is currently developing, under a wider commitment to take stronger and more effective action against economic crime. The recent appointment of Baroness Hodge as the UK’s new ‘anti-corruption champion’ is another important part of the government’s efforts to fight corruption. Her role will focus on driving action in government, building partnerships and advocating for international action.

Pinsent Masons regulatory expert Melanie Ryan said that the Labour government signalled a commitment to do more to tackle corruption in its pre-election briefings, and the recent initiatives demonstrate the government’s determination to fulfil its promises. She said that the post of anti-corruption champion has been vacant for two years and the role is widely seen as crucial to the efficacy of any anti-corruption commitments. 

“However, regulators and law enforcement have long said that they require more resources to meet the challenges they face, both domestically and internationally. The new pilot unit is designed to provide some much-need resources for this aspect, and to enhance intelligence on threat factors, long said to be lacking. However, the success of the new initiative will depend on the detail of its remit and staffing and, crucially, its funding,” she said, adding that care will have to be taken to ensure duplication is avoided among different public authorities.