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.
The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition today reiterated the need for substantive U.S. leadership on key anti-corruption and financial transparency reforms after the opening speech by President Biden last night. Among the Summit’s themes is the reaffirmation of still unfulfilled anti-corruption commitments from the previous Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru.
Africa loses significantly more cash to capital flight than it obtains from development aid, external borrowing, or foreign direct investment. In a real sense, Africa is a “net creditor” to the rest of the world.
The FACT Coalition applauds the inclusion of $52 million in emergency funds for the U.S. Treasury Department as part of the appropriations package passed today by the U.S. Senate. Today’s vote sends the larger $40 billion Ukraine aid package to the President’s desk to sign into law, and will assist Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal invasion.
Today, Sens. Whitehouse (D-RI) and Grassley (R-IA), published a letter signed by 23 bipartisan Senators addressed to congressional appropriators to urge increased funding for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Rep. Carolyn Maloney joined FACT and the Tax Justice Network in discussing the launch of the 2022 Financial Secrecy Index and what it means for the U.S. transparency agenda
Today, the United States was ranked the most secretive financial jurisdiction in the world, according to the 2022 Financial Secrecy Index (FSI).
