Rolling Back Extractives Transparency Measure Will Hamper National Security
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In one of the first substantive votes of the new Congress, the U.S. Senate utilized a controversial procedure and voted this morning (52-47) to kill a landmark anti-corruption measure, known as Cardin-Lugar (or Section 1504 of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010)—in a move panned by non-partisan anti-corruption experts.
The FACT Coalition sent a letter to senators Monday urging them to reject a provocative Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the bipartisan Cardin-Lugar anti-corruption provisions (Section 1504) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Statement by FACT Deputy Executive Director Clark Gascoigne
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The offshore companies controlled by Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin featured prominently in his Senate confirmation hearings held last week in Washington. It was revealed that the former investment banker managed companies with assets in Anguilla and the Cayman Islands, both widely recognized as tax havens.
The FACT Coalition sent a letter to House lawmakers Thursday urging them to reject a provocative Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the bipartisan Cardin-Lugar anti-corruption provisions (Section 1504) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Rolling Back Extractives Transparency Measure Could Hamper National Security
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are expected to introduce a controversial resolution to repeal a bipartisan anti-corruption safeguard, in a move panned by non-partisan anti-corruption experts.
Former Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) sponsored the Energy Security Through Transparency Act, as an amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The provision protects U.S. national security and combats corruption in developing countries (particularly those plagued by extremist violence and conflict) by requiring oil, gas, and mining companies which report to the Securities and Exchange Commission to publicly report all payments made to host-governments.
FATF Evaluation Notes the U.S. Anti-Money Laundering “System Has Serious Gaps that Impede Timely Access to Beneficial Ownership Information”
Last week, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—the international body that sets anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing (AML/CFT) standards—released its first review of the United States’ efforts to combat dirty money since 2006. While the FATF report finds that the U.S. generally has a decent AML/CFT framework, it notes that there remains a gaping hole in the regime: the problem of anonymous shell companies.
The FATF release states:
“The United States has a well-developed and robust anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regime through which it is effectively investigating and prosecuting money laundering and terrorist financing. However, the system has serious gaps that impede timely access to beneficial ownership information.”
Indeed, the U.S. remains one of the easiest places in the world for criminals, terrorists, and kleptocrats to open anonymous shell companies to launder illicit money with impunity, according to leading academics. That is because no U.S. state requires that information on the true, human owner (known as the “beneficial owner”) of an entity be disclosed to authorities at the time of incorporation.
