Man looking at his phone while using a laptop
May 2022 | Credit Decisions | Data Insights | Data Quality | Financial Compliance | Fraud detection | Fraud Prevention | Identity checks and verification
By Posted by Grant MacDonald

A zombie company director is a person appointed to become a director of an active business after their death

With Companies House responsible for gathering and processing data rather than verifying the legitimacy of what’s submitted, fraudsters can steal the identities of others and create distance from their nefarious behaviours with no chance of detection.

Icon showing a map of the UK

It’s a growing problem in the UK

Whilst companies are regularly updating their Companies House listings with information about directors and shareholders, not all may be as it appears.

Icon highlighting 6,452 zombie directors in the UK in 2022

We found:

There were 6,452 zombie directors associated with active UK businesses, who were appointed as directors after their death. (February 2022)

Read our infographic to find out what the solution is and what's being done to tackle the issue