The UK Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023: Why Private Equity Sponsors Should Be Paying Attention

When Nick Ephgrave QPM, director of the Serious Fraud Office, addressed a group of corporate leaders at Jones Day’s London Office in May 2025 about the UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (“ECCTA” or “the Act”), he was clear about its overarching goal: culture change. The new corporate offence of “failure to prevent fraud” established by ECCTA was intended, he said, to force a shift in organisational mindsets so that improved fraud prevention measures go from being a “nice to have” to the default.