Government and anti-fraud campaigners have previously identified so-called “zombie” directors as evidence of lax financial regulation that could allow money laundering, tax evasion and other financial crimes to take place.
The report said that while most of the cases are likely to be down to “simple” administrative mistakes, some could also “signal a more serious attempt to mislead”.
Liam Byrne MP, former Chief Secretary to the Treasury has said the number of directors who are actually dead is ‘dangerous’ as could lead to financial crime(Photo: ANDREW YATES / AFP via Getty Images)
Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee, described the disclosures as “not just absurd” but “dangerous”.
“When Companies House lists the dead as company directors and lets thousands hide behind a single postcode, it’s not just absurd—it’s dangerous. I welcome the progress to clean this mess up. But we need bolder reform, stronger enforcement, and sharper deterrence.”
In 2022, data firm LexisNexis identified 800 cases where a deceased person had been appointed as a director of a UK company after their death.
In recent years, the UK financial system has faced a series of allegations that it is too prone to fraud and money laundering. Recent cases involving a Russian warlord using his mother’s gas bill to avoid money laundering checks and hundreds of residents of County Durham being tied to a German fraud scheme.
Despite the thousands of dead directors, financial transparency campaigners are optimistic about business regulation reforms generally, which have just required all UK directors to submit ID verification for any company they own.
“Using these new powers to identify potential cases of fraud, correct inaccuracies and improve data quality in the register is a welcome start.
In March, tax campaigner Dan Neidle identified 65,000 companies hiding who truly owned them, despite Government efforts to increase transparency around financial records.
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Companies House Chief Executive Louise Smyth said it is committed to tackling abuse of the register.
“We identified deceased directors as an issue of potential abuse of the register. We took action immediately to query and where necessary correct this information.”
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