The Fraternal Order of Police sent a letter in support of the ILLICIT CASH Act (S. 2563) which includes a provision requiring the collection of beneficial ownership information.
The Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 takes the simple, yet effective, step to require corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) to disclose to law enforcement and others with legally mandated anti-money laundering responsibilities (e.g. financial institutions) information on who is the real, natural person (a.k.a. beneficial owner) who owns and controls an entity at the point of formation.
Additional provisions include a) outlawing the formation of bearer share corporations and LLCs, and b) requiring that bids for large federal contracts include the beneficial ownership data of the prospective contractors and subcontractors.
As August recess wraps up, the prospect for action on beneficial ownership is becoming more likely. In June the Corporate Transparency Act (H.R. 2513) passed out of the House Financial Services Committee by a bipartisan vote of 43-16. It’s sister bill (S.1978) was introduced in the Senate. Two beneficial ownership transparency bills, the TITLE Act (S.1889) and a discussion draft of the ILLICIT CASH Act, have been the subject of hearings. FACT’s Executive Director Gary Kalman testified before the Senate Banking Committee in June to address, among other issues, the impact of legislation on small business. He noted that “more than three quarters of small business owners felt the tradeoff — reporting burden vs. the prevention of unfair competition from anonymous shell companies — was worth it.”
The images of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un waving from atop a Mercedes Benz limo have made the rounds on the internet over the past few days in the wake of a new study published by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) and covered by the New York Times and CNN, among others. C4ADS research details how North Korea has evaded sanctions to secure luxury goods — and other more nefarious items — through its illicit finance operations.
The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition) submitted comments for the record to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on their recent hearing titled, “Combating Kleptocracy: Beneficial Ownership, Money Laundering, and Other Reforms.”
Gary Kalman, the executive director of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition, testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at a hearing regarding nongovernmental perspectives on the impact of collecting beneficial ownership information as part of legislation designed to protect the U.S. financial system.
