Sen. Wyden and Sen. Rubio’s “Corporate Transparency Act” — Companion to Rep. Maloney and Rep. King’s H.R.3089 — Would End Incorporation of Anonymous Companies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Momentum continued to build towards curbing criminal money laundering and terror finance Thursday as Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the Corporate Transparency Act (S.1717), the Senate companion to a bipartisan House bill (H.R.3089) aimed at ending the abuse of anonymous shell companies.
The legislation, which would require companies to disclose their true owner(s) when they incorporate and keep their ownership information up to-do-date, was welcomed by the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition), a non-partisan alliance of more than 100 state, national, and international organizations promoting policies to combat the harmful impacts of corrupt financial practices.
Clark Gascoigne, the deputy director of the FACT Coalition, issued the following statement:
“Anonymous companies have been used for a wide range of dangerous and illicit activities, including as fronts for rogue countries to evade sanctions, to cloak arms dealers shipping weapons into conflict zones, to fuel the opioid crisis in communities across the country, to engage in human trafficking, to rip off Medicare, and to undermine the safety of our troops through the sale of faulty equipment. This bill demonstrates the growing momentum for ending these abuses. Since the House companion was introduced a few weeks ago, multiple Members of Congress from both parties have added their names as cosponsors. Sen. Wyden and Sen. Rubio’s leadership underscores that the interest in incorporation transparency is not just bipartisan, but bicameral as well.”
The FACT Coalition also sent a letter of support for the legislation to Sens. Wyden and Rubio. The letter can be downloaded here.
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Notes to Editors:
- Read the press release from Sens. Wyden and Rubio.
- Read the full text of S.1717, the Corporate Transparency Act of 2017 (PDF)
- FACT Sheet: Differences in Beneficial Ownership Legislation — How Do the TITLE Act (S. 1454) and Corporate Transparency Act (H.R. 3089/S.1717) Differ? [PDF]
- FACT Sheet: Anonymous Shell Companies — Enabling Criminal Activity in the U.S. and Around the World
- FACT Sheet: Anonymous Companies and National Security
- FACT Sheet: Law Enforcement Opposes Anonymous Shell Companies
- FACT Sheet: Business Case for Ending Anonymous Companies
Journalist Contact:
Clark Gascoigne
Deputy Director, The FACT Coalition
+1 202 827-6401
cgascoigne@thefactcoalition.org