The U.S. is the easiest place in the world for a criminal, terrorist, tax cheat, or kleptocrat to open an anonymous shell company to launder their money with impunity. Anonymous corporations are great ways to hide money and other assets — they can hold a bank account or buy a yacht. Criminals often layer anonymous corporations, with one owning another and so on, making it even harder for law enforcement to “trace the money” and figure out who is directing the company’s activity. It’s time to ending the use of anonymous shell companies as vehicles for illicit activity by requiring that the true owners of U.S. companies be disclosed at the time of formation and updated upon any change.
FACT provides Senate testimony twice in one week, and Treasury’s new draft rules for real estate transactions and investment advisers draw the U.S. closer to shedding it’s status as the world’s number-one destination for dirty money.
Read FACT government affairs director Erica Hanichak’s testimony before the Senate Drug Caucus, which highlights the importance of beneficial ownership transparency toward detecting and dismantling drug trafficking networks.
The Treasury has appealed a recent federal court ruling finding the landmark Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, as urged by FACT and other transparency advocates.
Treasury says it will continue ownership information reporting after legal setback in Alabama, and FACT provides comments on Australia’s revised public country-by-country reporting draft legislation.
El viernes 1 de marzo, un juez federal de distrito de Alabama emitió un fallo declarando la inconstitucionalidad de la Ley de Transparencia Corporativa (CTA, por sus siglas en inglés), ley emblemática contra el lavado de dinero en los Estados Unidos.
On March 1, a federal district judge in Alabama issued an opinion finding the landmark Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, potentially undermining a once-in-a-generation U.S. anti-money laundering and national security victory.
