Part 4: Foreign Activities and Foreign Influence Registration Scheme Section 72: Requirement to register political influence activities of foreign powers
Section 72 provides a second set of ‘political influence tier’ registration requirements. The combined effect of sections 69-72 is to ensure transparency around political influence activities carried out for foreign powers. Section 72 focusses on certain circumstances where political influence activities are conducted by foreign powers themselves, rather those that they are directing through an arrangement that would need to be registered under section 69.
	Section 72 provides requirements for foreign powers to register political influence activities which they conduct themselves in certain specified circumstances.
	Subsection (1) provides that employees or staff members of foreign powers, when acting in their capacity as such, must not carry out unregistered political influence activities in the UK while making a misrepresentation about the activities or the capacity in which they act. This provision is designed to prevent undeclared foreign agents who are misrepresenting their identify, for example as a businessman rather than a foreign government employee, relying the foreign power exemption from registration. A misrepresentation might include one made to a particular individual (for example, in the case of an individual lying about who they work for in an individual meeting), or more generally (for example, presenting themselves in a different capacity to their whole range of stakeholders). There is no general requirement for employees etc., or the specified foreign power, to register activities that do not involve a misrepresentation (see Schedule 15).
	Subsection (2) provides that if the foreign power is a specified person and the political influence activities constitute relevant activities under section 68, the prohibition in subsection (1) does not apply. In these circumstances, a person would only be required to comply with the provisions of section 68.
	Subsection (3) provides that a misrepresentation is a representation that a reasonable person would consider to be false or misleading in a material way.
	Subsection (4) provides that a misrepresentation could be made by making a false or misleading statement (for example, an individual lying about who they work for). It could also be made by any other kind of conduct, including an omission (for example, an individual failing to mention details which means they represent themselves in a misleading way). The subsection clarifies that this misrepresentation may be made either explicitly or implicitly.
	Subsection (5) sets out some illustrative examples of actions that may constitute a misrepresentation. They include where an individual misrepresents their identity or purpose, or where they present information in a way that amounts to a misrepresentation (even if some of the information is true).
	Subsection (6) provides that a person who breaches the prohibition at subsection (1) commit an offence if the person knows, or having regard to other matters known to them ought reasonably to know, that they are making a misrepresentation about their activities or the capacity in which they act.
	Subsection (7) provides a potential defence to the offence under subsection (6). This defence is available to a person who has taken all steps reasonably practicable to determine whether the activities in question are or are not registered, and having taken such steps, reasonably believes that they are registered.
	Subsection (8) provides that a person is considered to have shown a matter mentioned in subsection (7) if there is sufficient evidence to raise an issue with respect of it, and the contrary is not proved beyond reasonable doubt. It will be for a defendant to provide evidence that the defence applies, following which it will be for the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the person did not take all reasonably practicable steps, or that they did not hold a reasonable belief that the activities were registered.
Example: Political influence activities carried out by a foreign power while making a misrepresentation
A government official of a foreign country visits the UK and presents himself as a leading academic in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). He approaches an MP’s office and introduces himself using this misrepresentation.
The foreign official meets with the MP in order to discuss the UK’s approach to AI regulation and seeks to persuade them to introduce a Private Members’ Bill on the issue. He does not register this activity.
Whilst foreign powers are exempt from registering their own activity, as the official is carrying out political influence activities while acting under a misrepresentation and seeking to advance the foreign government’s interests, they risk prosecution for failure to register the political influence activity.