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.
Congress must help restore the original scope and intent of the Corporate Transparency Act in light of clear evidence of the risks posed by anonymous shell companies to national security, law enforcement, U.S. consumers, and small businesses.
The Treasury issues an interim final rule that guts the CTA, Law Enforcement and financial transparency experts protest, and a hearing on fraud prevention brought attention to the issue of anonymous shell companies.
Read FACT’s official statement for the record submitted ahead of Tuesday’s HFSC subcommittee hearing on fraud prevention, including comments in opposition to H.R. 425. the Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act, which would fully repeal the Corporate Transparency Act.
“Treasury’s proposal contradicts decades of evidence that sanctions evaders, tax cheats, and fentanyl traffickers rely on anonymous U.S. companies to stash their illicit cash in the U.S. financial system.
The Treasury suspends ownership reporting requirements for most entities, a House Financial Services Committee Hearing emphasizes the importance of the Corporate Transparency Act, and mass IRS layoffs threaten US revenue collection.
El domingo, el Departamento del Tesoro anunció a través de una publicación en redes sociales que ya no tiene la intención de “aplicar sanciones o multas contra ciudadanos estadounidenses o sociedades nacionales con obligaciones de información o sus beneficiarios finales” conforme a la Ley de Transparencia Corporativa.
