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Ownership Transparency

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 Anonymous Companies That Protect Human Traffickers

Human trafficking is one of the most insidious crimes in our world today.  It’s a business that profits on depriving basic rights — buying and selling them for forced labor or sexual exploitation. Unfortunately, it is the third-or fourth-largest illegal industry in the world (depending on how one measures) — and one that is growing rapidly.  It is estimated to amount to $150 billion in profits each year while keeping 21 million people in slavery — at least that we know of.

Human traffickers hide in the shadows, making them extremely elusive to authorities. Vanessa Chauhan, a strategic engagement adviser at Polaris and FACT Coalition member, says, “It’s a hidden crime and unless you’re looking for it, you’re not going to find it.”  To remain hidden, some traffickers use illicit schemes, including complex webs of anonymous companies, that allow them to quietly launder the proceeds from their illicit activity and shield them from accountability.

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New Report: Anti-Money Laundering Efforts Near Failure

Former Treasury Agent Urges Authorities to Target the Drivers of Human Trafficking, Drug Smuggling, and Corruption
Ending Anonymous Companies; Trade Transparency Units; Holding Gatekeepers Accountable Among Policy Recommendations
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Worldwide anti-money laundering efforts are currently just a decimal point away from total failure, according to a new report published Tuesday by the FACT Coalition.

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Countering International Money Laundering

Worldwide anti-money laundering efforts are currently just a decimal point away from total failure, according to this August 2017 report published by the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition).

Authored by former Treasury Special Agent John Cassara, an internationally renown expert on financial crime, the study details the near failure of current efforts to combat money laundering and the rationale for comprehensive reform.

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FinCEN Real Estate Effort Underscores Need to End Anonymous Companies

Statement by the FACT Coalition on Treasury Department Decision to Renew and Expand Geographic Targeting Orders to Identify Buyers in Luxury Real Estate
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a branch of the U.S. Treasury Department, announced Tuesday that it was renewing and expanding its temporary orders seeking to uncover illicit activity in the luxury real estate sector.

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FACT Sheet: Anonymous Companies and National Security

The 2016 release of the Panama Papers was an avalanche of data on the nefarious use of anonymous companies for corrupt activities.  The leak showed that shell companies can represent an important nexus of corruption, money laundering, transnational organized crime, and terrorism, all of which directly harm U.S. foreign policy interests. Such companies have been used to divert U.S. security and overseas development funds from their intended purposes 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.

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FACT Sheet: Anonymous Shell Companies (August 2017)

America Is the Easiest Country in the World in which to Form an Anonymous Shell Company.
Creating a U.S. shell company takes less information than acquiring a library card.  A 2015 academic study found that the U.S. is the easiest country in the world for terrorists and criminals to open anonymous shell companies to launder their money with impunity.

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