1. 🪙 The first donations to a British political party from a memecoin mark a watershed and perilous moment. Political memecoins and crypto tokens pose incredible risks to the integrity of our democracy for which the UK appears wholly unprepared... 🧵 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Influential intervention from IPPR. We fully support a donation cap. It needs to come with annual spending caps too, to work as fairly as possible.

1. Big day for accountability yesterday. 👮 The government’s Crime and Policing Act came into law yesterday. It contains measures about protest which Spotlight on Corruption is deeply troubled by. But it also contains some hidden good bits which we are delighted to see put on the statute book. 🧵

🚨The MPs' code of conduct clearly shows that this £5m donation should have been declared to parliament straight after Farage was elected. But beyond this is the wider question of why the UK is still allowing limitless money into our election campaigns... 🧵 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

💰Gold is no longer simply a financial asset or commodity. It has become a strategic vehicle for organised crime, sanctions evasion, corruption, and political control. Its high value, portability, and suitability for money laundering attract criminal and corrupt actors.

🚨 Big blow for the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the credibility of the UK’s #Anti-MoneyLaundering (AML) regime as the Court of Appeal finds AML breaches by the world’s largest global law firm don’t automatically amount to professional misconduct.

📣 Synthesis of #GIACE research on illicit financial flows published ‘Fighting illicit financial flows: key learnings from GI ACE research’, authored by GI ACE Researcher @devipillay.co.za, synthesises publications produced by the CSC-hosted research programme between 2020 and February 2026.

[email protected] raises questions about access & influence around Keir Starmer’s top business adviser & links to Hakluyt. Spotlight’s Kamila Kingstone says it shows how blurred the lines are between private interests and gov - & why stronger transparency & conflict-of-interest rules are overdue.

Whether it's dodging tax, smuggling gold, or laundering drug money, corrupt actors and criminals rely on professionals to move, hide, and access their illicit wealth overseas. With key moments ahead - including the global Illicit Finance Summit in June - the message is clear: it’s time to act.

“Today’s revelations that No10 put the Foreign Office under pressure to put – not just one – but two political allies into key diplomatic roles points to a very concerning ‘jobs for mates’ culture and a deeply cavalier attitude to conflicts of interest..."

NEW from @desmog.com - Nigel Farage has personally accepted at least £675k from foreign governments, companies & donors since becoming an MP. But this isn’t just about one politician. It’s about gaping holes in the UK’s rules on foreign money & political influence. www.desmog.com/2026/04/18/n...

1.⚠️Today, mining giant ENRC goes to court to seek £215m from the Serious Fraud Office in compensation - which if successful would be equivalent to over double the SFO’s annual budget. ENRC is suing the SFO for alleged losses relating to its mishandling of a criminal probe the agency later dropped.

How can anti-corruption efforts help accelerate the transition to net zero & tackle environmental harm? What opportunities exist to foster greater cross-sector collaboration? All this & more was discussed at a parliamentary roundtable launching the ‘Clean and Green’ manifesto in March. Read more:

🚨Hugely significant development in sanctions enforcement to see British shipping financier John Ormerod charged with #money laundering and breach of Russia #sanctions, related to his alleged role in moving money linked to Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers: www.ft.com/content/470b...

MPs advertising products on behalf of private companies, or being brand ambassadors, creates very real conflicts of interest. If the MPs code of conduct doesn't address this, then it's a major gap that needs to be addressed. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

❗ Big changes are coming soon to the regulations governing how UK firms mitigate and manage money laundering risks. Some are welcome but without robust supervision others could make the UK more vulnerable to dirty money. Read out blog to find out about the main changes and their likely impact 👇

📣 Spotlight on Corruption supports the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition’s calls for universal anti-SLAPP law in the forthcoming King’s Speech. This is a vital step towards protecting our right to speak out from legal bullies. #StopSLAPPs www.linkedin.com/posts/uk-ant...

📅 With the UK #IllicitFinanceSummit fast approaching on 23-24 June, the National Liberal Club is hosting a panel discussion tonight exploring how UK leadership can help turn the tide on dirty money.

📅 Ahead of the UK’s Illicit Finance Summit in June, join us on April 14 at the National Liberal Club to discuss combatting dirty money. Great to see UKACC member organisations represented by @suehawley.bsky.social and @duncanhames.bsky.social. 🎟️ Tickets here: members.nlc.org.uk/web/pages/ev...

💥 NEW: We welcome the government’s ‘complete ban’ on political crypto donations which hit the headlines last week, but there has since been speculation over just how comprehensive it will actually be. Here's our assessment of what needs to happen next ⬇️ www.spotlightcorruption.org/making-the-u...

📝 Great to see a letter from our director @suehawley.bsky.social published in @theguardian.com today, which highlights the findings of our new ‘Credible Deterrence’ report and the extent to which the enforcement of political finance laws in the UK has plummeted 📉 bit.ly/41E5Hsz

🔊The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has brought its first ever #McMafia Order vs 85 luxury London properties worth over £81m. It’s great to see the CPS using #UnexplainedWealthOrders which require Su Jiangbo- the owner of the properties according to the media - to explain the origin of his wealth.

⚠️ Here's our Defending Democracy policy lead, @kamilakingstone.bsky.social, on why the government's plans to raise the bar when including consultation responses in legislation risks stifling public voices when it comes to policymaking ⬇️ www.spotlightcorruption.org/the-governme...

👏 New rules on political donations are coming in the government’s Elections Bill - a lot of them are things campaigners like us have been pushing for. And the Rycroft Review this week - and some of the things that the government has already adopted - are important first steps....

⚖️ NEW: Here's our analysis with a scorecard weighing up where the Rycroft Review: ✅ hit the nail on the head with its recommendations 💪 should have been stronger ...and crucially what needs to happen next to protect our democracy ⬇️ www.spotlightcorruption.org/revving-up-a...

Via Politico Influence: The campaign group Spotlight on Corruption says enforcement of political finance rules has reached “rock bottom” in recent years. "Its analysis found not a single person has spent a day in jail for breaching political finance laws"

💥NEW REPORT 'Credible Deterrence: beefing up enforcement of the UK's political finance rules' Now that the Rycroft Review is out and already making a real impact, we have decided to publish some of the research we submitted to inform the review. 🧵⬇️ www.spotlightcorruption.org/report/credi...

📻 Our director @suehawley.bsky.social spoke to LBC News yesterday to welcome the Rycroft Review and: 💷 the UK's first ever cap on political donations 🚫 the immediate ban on crypto donations But she urged the government to waste no time in implementing Rycroft's wider recommendations ⏰ ⬇️

🔍 In a welcome development in this major #McMafia order case, the High Court is hearing an #OpenJustice challenge today to the anonymisation of the woman subject to the National Crime Agency’s latest #UnexplainedWealthOrder - worth £5.8 million – as well as the law firms & property agents involved

👏 We're very pleased to see the Rycroft Review make some vital recommendations. As our director, @suehawley.bsky.social has said it is "a line in the sand" for UK politics, but the government must go even further to tighten our political finance rules ⬇️ www.spotlightcorruption.org/rycroft-revi...

⚖️ High stakes in court today as Dentons looks to overturn a finding that its breach of #AML rules amounts to professional misconduct, after the Solicitors Regulation Authority took the law firm to task over its handling of property transactions for a top banker from a kleptocratic regime

👏 Another top @financialtimes.com piece on collapsed mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) that raises real questions about the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s reliance on law firms to review compliance with the rules by regulated firms.

⚠️ As highlighted in @thetimes.com this weekend, the risks of cryptocurrency to the integrity of politics are huge. And it also poses significant risks to our economic stability, consumer protection and the environment.

⚠️ As highlighted in @thetimes.com this weekend, the risks of cryptocurrency to the integrity of politics are huge. And it also poses significant risks to our economic stability, consumer protection and the environment.

👏 Another top @financialtimes.com piece on collapsed mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) that raises real questions about the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s reliance on law firms to review compliance with the rules by regulated firms.

💰 🗓️ Campaign spending limits for political parties should apply all year to avoid parties gaming the system and risks of foreign interference. Our director, @suehawley.bsky.social gave evidence to MPs on why transparency and fairness matter in an age of permanent political campaigning. 🧵 ⬇️

@spotlightcorruption.org also recently picked up on the fact that Reform are obfuscating the addresses of their crypto wallets. www.spotlightcorruption.org/wp-content/u...

👏 Very welcome news that the Financial Conduct Authority has opened an #AML enforcement investigation into Market Financial Services Limited – the now collapsed UK mortgage lender at the heart of a £1.3 billion fraud scandal.

👏 Very welcome news that the Financial Conduct Authority has opened an #AML enforcement investigation into Market Financial Services Limited – the now collapsed UK mortgage lender at the heart of a £1.3 billion fraud scandal.

Huge congratulations to @spotlightcorruption.org for uptake on their recommendations and for having the tenacity to go after key measures to combat illicit finance and foreign interference in British political finance/electoral donations.

💰 🗓️ Campaign spending limits for political parties should apply all year to avoid parties gaming the system and risks of foreign interference. Our director, @suehawley.bsky.social gave evidence to MPs on why transparency and fairness matter in an age of permanent political campaigning. 🧵 ⬇️

📖 Superb report here from Earth League International on how corruption is a key enabler of environmental crime. Like our recently published #clean&green manifesto, it draws attention to the value of the UK Bribery Act for enforcing against corruption that enables environmental crime.

💥 Win: It’s very positive to see a new report by parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy which backs many of the key recommendations we have made to strengthen enforcement of political finance rules and tackle foreign interference ⬇️ 🧵 committees.parliament.uk/committee/11...

💥 Win: It’s very positive to see a new report by parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy which backs many of the key recommendations we have made to strengthen enforcement of political finance rules and tackle foreign interference ⬇️ 🧵 committees.parliament.uk/committee/11...

🎥 Here's @kamilakingstone.bsky.social to explain why the Representation of the People Bill should be amended to make 3️⃣ major changes to spending limits on general election campaigning.

⚖️Today the High Court is hearing a former whistleblower’s claim against the Ministry of Defence, Airbus and GPT (an Airbus subsidiary) based on his treatment at GPT and after he sounded the alarm on historic and ongoing corruption in their operation of the MoD’s £2bn arms contract with Saudi Arabia.

Top civil servant boomeranged between government and Tony Blair Institute. As @spotlightcorruption.org says, when individuals close to vested commercial interests are embedded in policymaking, Big Tech can capture and help set the rules that should regulate it. www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-mone...

⚖️Today the High Court is hearing a former whistleblower’s claim against the Ministry of Defence, Airbus and GPT (an Airbus subsidiary) based on his treatment at GPT and after he sounded the alarm on historic and ongoing corruption in their operation of the MoD’s £2bn arms contract with Saudi Arabia.

🎥 Here's @kamilakingstone.bsky.social to explain why the Representation of the People Bill should be amended to make 3️⃣ major changes to spending limits on general election campaigning.

📢 Coverage of the Fraud Strategy published last week has understandably focused on eye-catching initiatives like the new Online Crime Centre to crackdown on scams. But buried in its 93 pages are 5️⃣ key insights with significance for all economic crimes, including corruption.