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.

Encouraging Signs for a Possible U.S. Legislative Crackdown on Anonymous Companies

A little over a year ago, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released the Panama Papers, a treasure trove of information and a window into the world of financial secrecy. In some ways, much of what the Panama Papers revealed was already well known. Previous estimates put the amount of money hidden in offshore secrecy havens somewhere between $8 trillion and $32 trillion. In 2015, The New York Times published an impressive five-part series on the use of anonymous shell companies to purchase prime real estate in New York City. Prior to that, the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit (which they just won on June 29th) to force the forfeiture of New York property secretly owned by the government of Iran in direct violation of economic sanctions. And so on. Yet it is hard to deny the captivating intrigue of the specific stories in the Panama Papers involving Russian kleptocrats, world leaders, athletes, movie stars, and others.

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Letter from the CEOs of Dow Chemical, Salesforce, Unilever, Allianz, Virgin, and the Kering Group supporting beneficial ownership disclosure.

Business leaders, financial institutions, investors and governments are taking action to end anonymous companies. On June 28, lawmakers introduced two bills in the United States House of Representatives and Senate which will make it harder for criminals to use anonymous shell companies as vehicles for fraud, crime, and corruption.

Today B Team Leaders and CEOs Andrew Liveris, Paul Polman, Marc Benioff, François-Henri Pinault, Oliver Bäte and Josh Bayliss sent a letter to key members of Congress in support of these legislative efforts.

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Letter to Sens. Whitehouse, Grassley, and Feinstein Supporting True Incorporation Transparency for Law Enforcement (TITLE) Act (S. 1454)

The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition) sent a letter to Sens. Whitehouse, Grassley, and Feinstein supporting the True Incorporation Transparency for Law Enforcement (TITLE) Act (S. 1454),  which would enable law enforcement to more effectively and efficiently conduct investigations, enhancing safety by saving time and resources in pursuing complex money laundering operations. The full letter can be read below or downloaded here.

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Joint Letter from 44 Organizations Supporting the TITLE Act (S.1454)

The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition)  joined 43 other organizations to send a letter to Sens. Whitehouse, Grassley, and Feinstein supporting the True Incorporation Transparency for Law Enforcement (TITLE) Act [S. 1454], which would require companies to disclose information about the real people who own or control them (often called the “beneficial owners”) at the time they are created.

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