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 National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys (NAAUSA) sent a letter to lawmakers on the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services endorsing the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 (H.R.2513).
Titled “Anonymous Companies Help Finance Illicit Commerce and Harm American Businesses and Citizens: A Need for Incorporation Transparency,” this May 2019 report from the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition) explains that the trafficking and smuggling of counterfeit and pirated goods is a very profitable illegal activity for many of today’s criminals and illicit networks and that these networks rely on the secrecy provided by anonymous entities to launder their ill-gotten-gains and escape detection.
Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 a Critical Measure to Combat Corruption, Sanctions Evasion, Money Laundering, and Human Trafficking
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation on Friday addressing the largest vulnerability in the nation’s anti-money laundering framework, according to the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition, a non-partisan alliance of more than 100 state, national, and international organizations promoting policies to combat the harmful impacts of corrupt financial practices.
Anti-human trafficking organization, Polaris sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services, urging members to end the incorporation of anonymous shell companies.
The full letter can be read below or downloaded here.
Business Support Continues to Grow for Corporate Ownership Transparency
A group of CEOs from major companies, a trade association of major multinational enterprises, and a small business trade group each called on Congress over the past week to end the abuse of anonymous shell companies, adding to the momentum to enact corporate ownership transparency legislation.
CEOs
A dozen current and former CEOs from major corporations (including Allianz, Chobani, Danone, Kering, and Unilever) sent a letter to Congress on Tuesday calling on lawmakers to end anonymous shell companies by enacting the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act of 2019.
On Tuesday April 2, FACT’s Executive Director joined a panel discussion hosted by the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. The panel discussed the expansion of anti-corruption enforcement in the U.S., as well as the challenges of researching oligarchs and recent developments in anti-corruption work.
