Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA)

It makes large organisations criminally liable if an employee, agent, subsidiary, or other associated party commits a fraud intended to benefit the business and the organisation did not have “reasonable procedures” to stop it. 

The offence applies to companies meeting size thresholds (turnover above £36m, balance‑sheet total above £18m, or more than 250 staff) and captures a wide range of misconduct, from false accounting to fraudulent trading and obtaining services dishonestly. 

It is important to be aware that if the company doesn’t meet those requirements, it will still be within scope of the offence if the overall corporate group, regardless of where it is headquartered, amounts to a large organisation when considered as a whole. 

For the real estate sector, the risks are heightened because property businesses rely heavily on contractors, intermediaries, valuers, agents and joint‑venture structures, all of whom fall within the Act’s definition of “associated persons.” This creates exposure in areas such as manipulated valuations, inaccurate service‑charge reporting, misstatements in investment documentation, procurement irregularities, and dishonest behaviour within development teams or external consultants. Given the scale and complexity of transactions in real estate, even incidental benefit to the organisation may trigger liability. 

To protect themselves, developers and asset owners need to show they have proportionate and risk‑based anti‑fraud procedures, as required by government guidance. This includes clear senior‑level oversight, documented fraud‑risk assessments, third‑party due diligence, training programmes, and ongoing monitoring. 

For real estate firms, this means strengthening oversight of agents and contractors, tightening approval and reporting processes, and ensuring valuations, financial models and procurement decisions are fully auditable. Without evidence of active controls, organisations face a materially increased risk of ECCTA enforcement. 

How we can help

Our regulatory specialists can guide you through the requirements by reviewing procurement, valuation and approval workflows, enhancing contractor and intermediary due‑diligence processes, delivering tailored training, and helping embed the monitoring and governance frameworks required to evidence ‘reasonable procedures’ under the Act.