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.
More than 100 national security experts sent a letter to senate leadership urging members to end the incorporation of anonymous shell companies by passing the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020.
The harm caused by illicit commerce, facilitated oftentimes by the abuse of anonymous companies, is far reaching.
The FACT Coalition filed comments for the record to House Financial Services Committee regarding a Virtual Hearing titled “Cybercriminals and Fraudsters: How Bad Actors Are Exploiting the Financial System During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” on June 16th, 2020.
Corruption thrives in crisis. As the nation rushes to stop the bleeding of the COVID-19 pandemic, new opportunities arise for bad actors—common criminals, corrupt officials, U.S. adversaries, and authoritarian regimes—to exploit gaps in the U.S. financial system for their own gain. Congress must spend the coming weeks not only readying the next economic response to COVID-19 but also tackling the long-standing vulnerability of U.S. financial secrecy, to keep the trajectory of the national and global recovery on course.
FACT sent comments to the United Nations High Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (FACTI Panel).
As Congress debates the next round of stimulus funding and the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is worth taking a brief moment to make sure we are thoughtful in our response. It is integral to the health and prosperity of the American people that the policies designed to respond to this extraordinary moment …
