New economic crime agency given go-ahead
When the Tory party was on the campaign trail, it promised to reform the financial sector so that economic problems such as those that caused the recession could be avoided in the future. Now the party is in a ruling coalition with the Liberal Democrats, that promise has been realised.
The Economic Crime Agency will be formed from elements of the Serious Fraud Office, Financial Services Authority and the Office of Fair Trading and will have a remit to persue those who are guilty of so called ‘white-collar crimes’.
While this is a good move in order to ensure those in positions of responsibility in the economy are kept from abusing their powers, it remains to be seen how exactly this new agency will differ from the old setup in terms of regulatory powers and ability to prosecute those accused of wrongdoing.
