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.
A diverse collection of more than 125 organizations sent a letter to the sponsors of the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 (H.R.2513) supporting their legislation to end the abuse of anonymous companies.
House Committee to Vote on Corporate Transparency Act Tuesday
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan group of four U.S. senators unveiled draft legislation to update federal anti-money laundering laws and end the incorporation of anonymous companies in the U.S. on Monday, as House lawmakers prepare to vote on their own bipartisan proposal to address the abuse of anonymous companies on Tuesday.
More than 90 national security experts sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services, urging members to end the incorporation of anonymous shell companies.
A group of international nongovernmental organizations wrote to Ranking Member Patrick McHenry and Chairwoman Maxine Waters to declare their support for the Corporate Transparency Act.
The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition) submitted comments for the record to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on their recent hearing on fighting illicit finance.
Anonymous companies facilitate everything from corruption and money laundering to transnational organized crime, sanctions evasion, and terrorism — all of which directly harm U.S. foreign policy interests. Such companies have been used to divert from their intended purposes U.S. security and overseas development funds into the hands of those who seek to do the United States harm, and they can help fund the very insurgents and terrorists U.S. troops are fighting.
