What is the economic crime bill and how effective will it be?

theguardian.com:

The economic crime bill, or to give its formal title, the economic crime (transparency and enforcement) bill, is scheduled be rushed through the Commons on Monday. Here’s what it is and what it is meant to do.

In broad terms, it is meant to make life more difficult for people seeking to hide wealth in the UK, particularly those doing so from overseas, including criminals and those – such as Russian oligarchs – who might be seeking to shelter illicitly-acquired money, particularly through property purchases.

The bill had been repeatedly delayed, and after ministers were unable to guarantee it would even appear in this session of parliament there was recent speculation it might have been dropped. But following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the focus on Russian money in the UK, it was tabled last week and the plan is for all its Commons stages to take place on Monday.

It is to set up a register of overseas entities, which would be a list of the ultimate owners of property or land in the UK purchased by overseas individuals or companies. Currently, many expensive properties, especially in London, are owned by opaque shell companies based overseas. The register, to be updated annually, would oblige a company to declare who the “beneficial owner” is, meaning the person who ultimately owns or controls an asset. Failure to properly register such details will be a criminal offence, with a potential punishment of up to five years’ jail.

While this is a change that opposition parties and campaigners have long pushed for, there are concerns about some elements. One worry is that existing owners will have up to six months to register, potentially allowing people to dispose of or transfer illicit assets. The bill puts this grace