US Closes Key Money-laundering, Tax Evasion Channel – By Paul Handley (IB Times) / January 3 2021
A major avenue for global money laundering and tax evasion has been closed off by a new law requiring disclosure of owners of US shell companies used to hide billions of dollars.
The Corporate Transparency Act was included in the US defense appropriations bill passed into law by Congress late Friday, overriding President Donald Trump’s veto.
The law forces “beneficial owners” behind shell companies to report their identities to the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN.
A new US law has closed off a major avenue for global money laundering and tax evasion Photo: AFP / PEDRO PARDO
While the law still grants them protection from public knowledge — only the Treasury and law enforcement will be able to access the FinCEN database — transparency advocates say it is a huge step against kleptocrats, organized crime and rich tax evaders who have been able to anonymously wash their suspect wealth through the world’s largest economy.
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