Enabling Criminal Activity in the U.S. and Around the World
America is one of the easiest places in the world in which to form an anonymous shell company—this facilitates crimes that victimize ordinary Americans.
This week marks the anniversary of the Panama Papers, a leak of more than 11 million documents exposing widespread corruption and illicit financing involving 140 public officials in more than 50 countries around the globe. The leak, large as it was, included documents from just one law firm and had reverberations worldwide. The impact was profound, but was it enough? And what did we learn?
For those not steeped in money laundering practices and illicit financial flows, the Panama Papers showed the world how it all works. If you want to finance terror; steal from taxpayers; traffic in humans, weapons, or drugs; or evade taxes, anonymous shell companies are the vehicle of choice. The Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca showed that these entities were easy to set up, inexpensive to maintain, and able to provide legal secrecy even if covering up underlying illegal activity.
FACT Coalition Statement on the One Year Anniversary of the Panama Papers Leaks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Monday, April 3rd marks the one year anniversary of the leak of the “Panama Papers” — more than 11 million documents from a Panamanian law firm obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition) submitted the below comments to the General Services Administration (GSA), in response to RFI #ID15170001, urging the agency to adopt a non-proprietary, open identifier system for use in federal procurement that includes the collection of information on the real people who own and control bidders of federal contracts and grants (also known as ‘beneficial owners’).
Statement by the FACT Coalition on Treasury’s Decision to Renew 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 that it was renewing its temporary orders seeking to uncover illicit activity in the luxury real estate sector.
Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduces an amendment to add the issue of anonymous companies to the docket of the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee. Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, and Representative Stevan Pearce (R-NM), Chair of the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee, endorse the amendment and call for action on anonymous companies. The committee approves the amendment.
