The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act Would Establish a Rewards Program for Whistleblowers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday afternoon to combat terror finance and foreign government corruption in a move that was welcomed by the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition.
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.
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.
Sen. Wyden and Sen. Rubio’s “Corporate Transparency Act” — Companion to Rep. Maloney and Rep. King’s H.R.3089 — Would End Incorporation of Anonymous Companies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Momentum continued to build towards curbing criminal money laundering and terror finance Thursday as Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the Corporate Transparency Act (S.1717), the Senate companion to a bipartisan House bill (H.R.3089) aimed at ending the abuse of anonymous shell companies.
Over the past several decades, anonymous shell companies have been at the heart of heinous crimes, including cases of grand corruption, human trafficking, and even the facilitation of the opioid epidemic. Didier Jacobs of Oxfam America highlighted some of the blights of anonymous companies in a recent blog. In it, he describes how drug lords, corrupt politicians, and human traffickers are able to perform illegal acts while hidden from justice by a veil of anonymity. With shielded identities, criminals can effectively function above the law.
Transparency Measures Have Broad Support from Financial Institutions, Law Enforcement, and Anti-Corruption Advocates
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Bipartisan pieces of legislation introduced on June 28, 2017 aim to crack down on one of the prime enablers of criminal money laundering and terrorist financing — the abuse of anonymous shell companies.
