Another important piece of the COVID procurement puzzle from David Conn @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Parties offering cash for access is corrosive to democracy, reinforcing the public view that politics is a game for a wealthy elite, with little concern for those without deep pockets. Elections Bill is an opp to remove the corrupting influence of big money www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

A £33.7m London mansion owned by now sanctioned Iranian banker Ali Ansari revealed by @occrp.org to add to £73m+ UK asset portfolio reported previously by @privateeyenews.bsky.social www.occrp.org/en/news/sanc...

🚨 Great to speak with @petergeoghegan.bsky.social at Democracy for Sale about my new book - VIP Lane: Cronyism and the Pandemic. Watch the interview here: youtu.be/QkXu3-RanEo?... Book available here: viplanebook.com

Looks like Jersey Gov has decided to diverge from AMLD6, despite years of saying they were going to follow the EU's approach. The consultation proposes a legit interest test that differs significantly from AMLD6, and follows the more restrictive approach by the Overseas Territories.

The Government of Jersey has launched a public consultation on extending access to its central beneficial ownership register to people with legitimate interest. Submissions due by 30 January 2026. Full details: www.gov.je/Government/C... #beneficialownership #legitimateinterest

Well deserved. Good luck @russellscott1.bsky.social !

Exclusive: Two of Nathan Gill's fellow Ukip/Brexit Party MEPs used the same pro-Russia talking points in European Parliament, after joining him on a paid-for trip to Kyiv observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

The UK has a big dirty money problem. Tens of billions laundered through the economy. In theory there are lots of laws and regulations to stop this from happening, but in practice too many of these don't work effectively. Why? Too many in the private sector don't follow them and do so with impunity.

The Sheer Scale of the ‘VIP Lane’ PPE Scandal Has Still Not Been Revealed 5 Years On Evidence suggests that at 20+ more politically-connected suppliers received contracts worth £1B I reported on this for @bylinetimes.bsky.social in April: bylinetimes.com/2025/04/16/c... See also Viplanebook.com

Not so fun fact.. If you placed 1 million pallets of PPE side by side they would stretch from John o’Groats to Lands End. Not only was the VIP Lane unlawful it was also incredibly wasteful. Over half of VIP firms supplied PPE deemed unsuitable for the NHS. Viplanebook.com

Exclusive: Nigel Farage has not updated his register since May, despite continuing to present his GB News show, record Cameo videos and being a verified X user Qus are now being asked about the non-registration of his shareholding in GB parent co All Perspectives observer.co.uk/news/politic...

WHO PAYS, WHO DECIDES? BIG MONEY IN BRITISH POLITICS 📆Monday, 4.30pm | Nova Scotia | Liverpool Join our Director of Policy, @duncanhames.bsky.social, @liambyrnemp.bsky.social, @suehawley.bsky.social & @edhodgsoned.bsky.social to hear about big money's influence on our democracy.

This is what happens when democracies die. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

📽️ NEW 📽️ Does the UK have a dark money problem? Should we be worried? As our Senior Research Officer, @rosewhiff.bsky.social explains - the public have a right to be concerned about the grip of dark money on our politics.

📺 "It is probably the biggest misspending scandal in the UK of all time." A ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review from The Guardian for last night's The Covid Contracts documentary featuring commentary and analysis from our Chief Executive, @danieljbruce.bsky.social. Now available on ITVX ⤵️ www.itv.com/watch/the-co...

Russell's being very modest here, he's also just written THE book on the VIP lane. Available now russellscott.substack.com/p/new-book-o...

Owner of Georgian broadcaster called country’s ‘propaganda megaphone’ is based in London

Great to see UK coverage of what's happening in Georgia. I remember how the Rose revolution 20yrs ago got so much airtime and print space, yet now almost nothing as it slides into authoritarianism and further into Russia's orbit. Needs more attention. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

🚨TV tonight: an essential record of the Covid contracts scandal An investigation into the extent of greed and deception in PPE provision. 🎥More detail on our ITV documentary here 👇 www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Interesting new insights on A7A5 and Russian sanctions evasion from Tom Rowley www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publicati...

Exclusive: Peter Mandelson is facing calls for a standards investigation over a possible breach of parliamentary rules Comes amid ongoing questions about whether the Labour peer should remain a member of the House of Lords 👇 observer.co.uk/news/politic...

Exc: Reform Party sponsors appear to have broken company law Crypto firm Zebec's Companies House listing cites a BVI-registered holding company as its ultimate owner, in an apparent breach of the rules observer.co.uk/news/politic...

Given the PM likes football, I'll put it this way. Mandelson has scored a hat trick of OGs for successive Labour governments. Surely this had got to be last time he's selected to be on the first team?

📻 "No Prime Minister is under any obligation to follow the advice that they're given." Following Angela Rayner's resignation @danieljbruce.bsky.social went on LBC News made the case for stronger rules and independent oversight of ministerial standards in government.

Electoral law is crystal clear that parties and politicians can only accept donations from permissible sources, and recipients must verify the source of funds. Credible allegations of rule breaking should be investigated. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

🚨NEW Our blueprint to end financial secrecy in UK offshore centres is out today. New guidelines provide five standards for meaningful beneficial ownership registers - from protecting investigators to ensuring broad access for journalists & civil society. www.transparency.org.uk/publications...

For those interested in #beneficialownership transparency, @transparencyuk.bsky.social have published new guidelines on how to provide effective access to this data, building on previous standards from FATF, @openownership.bsky.social, the EU and UK www.transparency.org.uk/sites/defaul...

Local reporting is a bulwark against abuse of office yet it is chronically underfunded and overstretched. Boycotting the Nottingham Post to avoid scrutiny is a dangerous precedent for the UK. Copying Trump's playbook undermines free speech, a Great British liberty www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

🗣️ “The public have a right to know how much time MPs spend on second jobs, and how much they’re paid.” @stevejgoodrich.bsky.social warned @catneilan.bsky.social that MPs must be transparent about outside payments to distinguish real deals from disguised donations. observer.co.uk/news/politic...

🚨 Another example of why the "revolving door" system is broken. Until we have proper rules with teeth, these conflicts of interest will continue to undermine public trust. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

If I had a pound for every housing minister in the last ten years...

Great to see CSPL call-out the UK Gov for allowing ministers to continue meddling in the affairs of the Electoral Commission www.theguardian.com/politics/liv... We @transparencyuk.bsky.social agree there's no place for gov interference in this parliamentary body. Labour agreed too in last parl...

If I had a pound for every cash for access story over the years, I might just be able to afford to pay and meet 'key policymakers' myself. When will parties and orgs linked to them learn this is never a good look, and damaging for confidence in our increasingly fragile democracy.

🆕 BLOG 🆕 Up to £10 billion could be laundered through UK property each year, according to the latest government risk assessment. From opaque trusts to crypto schemes, criminals are finding new ways to hide dirty money. Read more ⤵️ www.transparency.org.uk/news/authori...

Today, the Government released their long-awaited Strategy for Modern and Secure Elections. Out experts outline some of the key provisions in the White Paper and talk through what’s missing ⬇️

Good point from @petergeoghegan.bsky.social about potential unintended consequences of gov's proposals for electoral reform re: imprints. Could have a real chilling effect before elections. Needs a rethink!

Here’s the full rundown from @stevejgoodrich.bsky.social of all the reform measures announced today on political campaign finance, and also the ones that were missing:

My take on the government's elections strategy, published yesterday. Lots of reasons to be cheerful but they've left a big elephant in the room - the corrupting influence of big money in politics - which goes untouched and unrecognised www.transparency.org.uk/news/protect...

🗣️ "Crackdown on foreign donations welcome, but bolder action needed to end corrupting influence of big money." See our full statement on the government's new elections strategy published today ⤵️ www.transparency.org.uk/news/crackdo...

Total spend (party and candidates) 2010-2024, Con v Lab. NB. not incl. joint candidates yet. Big switch in 2024. Might explain lack of changes to spending limits + donation caps in statement just now from minister Rushanara Ali in Parl.

BREAKING: @electoralcommission.org.uk confirm 2024 UK general election was most expensive in recent history. Thanks to new national campaign spending limits, Labour's 'air war' cost £30m (excl staff costs), while the Tories' lagged behind with £23m search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Search/Spend...

🆕 BLOG 🆕 Did you know the UK's electoral watchdog can only fine parties up to £20,000 - even for serious breaches? Our new explainer reveals why current enforcement is failing to deter rule-breaking and what reforms are urgently needed. Read more ⤵️ www.transparency.org.uk/news/how-our...

Rupert Lowe is under investigation by the standards commissioner, after crowdfunding c £620k without registering it The crowdfunder includes several four figure sums from anonymous donors, and some that appear to come from foreign sources @theobserveruk.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/politic...

Is this why the MoD thinks the Aquind project is a national security concern? www.compliancecorylated.com/news/the-nep...

No wonder the new build housing market looks as if it's being dominated by a cartel - it is!

🎥 The BVI's failure to meet the deadline on accessible corporate registers sends a "terrible message." Good to see David Lammy commit to further work on ensuring Britain's overseas territories take action to tackle illicit finance at this week's Foreign Affairs Committee.

🔍 We’ve just added 5,500+ new meetings to our Open Access database of Westminster and Holyrood meetings with external organisations. Check out the new data here⤵️ openaccess.transparency.org.uk

🚨 NEW 🚨 Billions of pounds of dirty money have been laundered through shell companies in the UK Overseas Territories, such as the BVI. This impacts national security and worsens global poverty. As David Lammy faces the Foreign Affairs Committee today, see why it's time for urgent action ⤵️

Quick reminder: despite only having a population of c5,000, Montserrat has a working, pretty decent and public company beneficial ownership register cipo.fsc.ms/beneficial_o... Shame the BVI is undermining Montserrat's sterling efforts 🙄 cipo.fsc.ms/companies/44...