Tax & Economic Crime Offences Update 2026

Introduction

Tax and economic crime enforcement continues to evolve rapidly. While the legal distinction between tax avoidance (lawful) and tax evasion (criminal) remains fundamental, recent legislative and enforcement developments have significantly expanded corporate exposure and accountability.

Since the introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), alongside earlier frameworks such as the Bribery Act 2010 and the Criminal Finances Act 2017, UK authorities have demonstrated a renewed focus on corporate responsibility and individual dishonesty in tax-related offences.

High-profile investigations and prosecutions - including the R v Ecclestone decision - underline HMRC’s increasingly assertive stance and the blurring line between civil tax disputes and criminal proceedings. Organisations must now review and adapt their compliance systems to meet higher expectations of transparency, governance, and prevention.

This webinar provides an update on the latest developments, case law, and enforcement trends shaping the UK’s tax and corporate crime landscape. It is intended for compliance, finance, and legal professionals seeking to ensure their organisations remain aligned with the current regulatory and enforcement environment.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• Legislative developments - recent statutory changes
• Context of avoidance v evasion in tax minimisation
• HMRC’s current enforcement approach - evolving strategies distinguishing avoidance, evasion, and fraud, with insights from R v Ecclestone
• Analysis of the evolution of dishonesty in recent case law and the essential element that runs through offences of this type
• Changes to attribution the ‘Senior Manager Test’ under s.196 ECCTA 2023
• Expansion of ‘failure to prevent’ offences - implication of ECCTA 2023 s.199
• Reasonable Fraud Prevention Procedures and associated proportionality defence
• Future outlook - emerging themes and upcoming areas of reform for 2026 and beyond

This pre-recorded webinar will be available to view from Friday 16th January 2026

Alternatively, you can gain access to this webinar and 2,101 others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email webinarsubscription@mblseminars.com for more details.