Tom Paine 1949
Diamond Member
- Mar 15, 2020
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In all the years that ICIJ [International Consortium of Investigative Journalists] has been investigating financial secrecy, there has been one common cry resonating after each of our exposés: the need for more transparency.
From Offshore Leaks to Panama Papers to Pandora Papers, when ICIJ reveals global scandals enabled by secretive shell companies, advocacy groups respond that unmasking company owners will make it harder and harder for criminals and wrongdoers to move dirty cash around the world.
After ICIJ and BuzzFeed News’ FinCEN Files investigation in 2020, the U.S. passed a new law to do just that, and mandated the Treasury Department with establishing a database of company owners, to help stamp out anonymous companies. Since then, the process has been plagued by stumbles and setbacks, and just last week Treasury hit a whole new snag when a key supporter launched a sharp criticism of one of the proposed new rules for the database.
The American Bankers Association wrote to Treasury that its newest proposed rule — forcing bankers to seek permission from clients and Treasury before being able to access the database — would render the company registry effectively useless.
“This can only be thought of as an attempt to limit the utility of the registry and is not found in any of the registries around the world that are actually useful, and publicly accessible,” attorney and anti-money laundering specialist Ross Delston told us.
The beneficial ownership rule goes into effect in January 2024, leaving Treasury with less than 12 months to finalize its plans.
Proposed rule would render US company registry ‘effectively useless,’ bankers warn - ICIJ
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www.reuters.com
From Offshore Leaks to Panama Papers to Pandora Papers, when ICIJ reveals global scandals enabled by secretive shell companies, advocacy groups respond that unmasking company owners will make it harder and harder for criminals and wrongdoers to move dirty cash around the world.
After ICIJ and BuzzFeed News’ FinCEN Files investigation in 2020, the U.S. passed a new law to do just that, and mandated the Treasury Department with establishing a database of company owners, to help stamp out anonymous companies. Since then, the process has been plagued by stumbles and setbacks, and just last week Treasury hit a whole new snag when a key supporter launched a sharp criticism of one of the proposed new rules for the database.
The American Bankers Association wrote to Treasury that its newest proposed rule — forcing bankers to seek permission from clients and Treasury before being able to access the database — would render the company registry effectively useless.
“This can only be thought of as an attempt to limit the utility of the registry and is not found in any of the registries around the world that are actually useful, and publicly accessible,” attorney and anti-money laundering specialist Ross Delston told us.
The beneficial ownership rule goes into effect in January 2024, leaving Treasury with less than 12 months to finalize its plans.
Proposed rule would render US company registry ‘effectively useless,’ bankers warn - ICIJ
Biden highlights anti-money laundering as a tool to combat corruption
Daniel L. Stein, Gina M. Parlovecchio and Marie C. Notter, of Mayer Brown, discuss the Biden administration's strategy to combat corruption and money laundering through efforts such as increasing transparency and reporting obligations.
www.reuters.com
