News & Events

House Committee Advances Bipartisan Bill to End Abuse of Anonymous Companies

House Financial Services Committee

Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 Moves Forward with Strong Bipartisan Support

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House Committee on Financial Services voted 43-16 on Wednesday to advance a bipartisan measure to end the incorporation of anonymous companies that can be used for money laundering, terror financing, corruption, and tax evasion.

Sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Rep. Pete King (R-NY), the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 (H.R.2513) would require companies to disclose their true (i.e. beneficial) owners when they incorporate and keep their ownership information up to-do-date.  The bipartisan vote of support comes just days after four senators — Mark Warner (D-VA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Doug Jones (D-AL), and Mike Rounds (R-SD), who all sit on the key Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs — unveiled draft anti-money laundering legislation that included similar beneficial ownership disclosure language.

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the topic of ending anonymous companies next week.  The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition is slated to be among the witnesses.

Clark Gascoigne, the deputy director of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition, issued the following statement:

“House lawmakers chose to put country before politics this week — heeding the consensus view among the national security, law enforcement, and human rights communities that anonymous companies pose a threat to the safety and security of the American people.  On behalf of our more than 100 member organizations, the FACT Coalition applauds the leadership of Representatives Maloney, King, Luetkemeyer, and Waters in forging a commonsense measure that garnered a strong bipartisan show of support.  Wednesday’s vote is an important milestone, and we look forward to building on this momentum to continue broadening the support for ending anonymous companies as this bill moves to the House floor.”

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Journalist Contact:

Clark Gascoigne
Deputy Director, The FACT Coalition
+1 202 810-1334
cgascoigne@thefactcoalition.org

Notes to Editors:

  • Click here for an online version of this release.
  • Click here to read a press release from Rep. Maloney.
  • Click here for more information about (and a video recording of) the markup of the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 (H.R.2513).
  • Click here for a list of individuals and organizations endorsing beneficial ownership transparency.