Company Investigations25 Jan 2020 11:29
What we do.
What we do
Company Investigations has the power to investigate limited companies where information we receive suggests corporate abuse; this may include serious misconduct, fraud, scams or sharp practice in the way the company operates.
We have been given this power by the Companies Acts.
We acknowledge receipt of all complaints in writing.
After receiving a complaint we assess it and consider whether:
? we can investigate the complaint, and
? it is in the public interest to investigate the company
against which the complaint has been made.
As part of this process, we may ask you for more information or do our own background research, or both. We don't approach the company at this stage and we don't tell the company that we have received a complaint from you.
If we are satisfied that there is sufficient 'good reason' and that it is in the public interest to do so, we will investigate. We have the power to demand information, but the law allows us only to pass on the results to specified people and organisations.
Our investigations are confidential, so we don't tell:
? company directors the specific reasons why we are investigating their company,
? the company being investigated who the complainant is,
? the complainant whether or not we have decided to investigate a
company,
? the complainant what we have found if we do investigate a company.
We carry out fact-finding investigations; they are not criminal investigations, even though they may be about criminal behaviour. We don't have to restrict our enquiries to what was in the original complaint, and if we find things that concern us, we can take action, set out below under 'Possible outcomes after an investigation'.
Not all the complaints we get are relevant for us to deal with. We can only consider complaints that we have the legal power to deal with.
If we think your concerns are more appropriate for another public body, we normally pass on your complaint. However, if you do not wish us to do so, please make that clear in your complaint.
We issue a press release when we complete any follow-up action. We will also tell you if we take proceedings in the public interest (e.g. winding up the company or disqualifying a director).
Contact us
Please complain about a company online at www.gov.uk/complain-about-a- limited-company.
If you want to contact Company Investigations write to:
Compliance and Targeting Investigations and Enforcement Services Insolvency Service
3rd Floor Cannon House
18 Priory Queensway
Birmingham
B4 6FD
Tel: 0300 678 0017
What we cannot do
We do not have the power to investigate:
? sole traders or partnerships, unless they have limited liability;
? companies that don't have a business address in England, Wales,
Scotland or Northern Ireland;
? companies that have been dissolved.
We don't usually investigate companies that are:
? in compulsory liquidation;
? being investigated by someone else, such as the police or another