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US Closes Key Money-laundering, Tax Evasion Path

Agence France-Presse

   WASHINGTON - A major avenue for global money laundering and tax evasion
   has been closed off by a new law requiring disclosure of owners of U.S.
   shell companies used to hide billions of dollars.

   The Corporate Transparency Act was included in the U.S. defense
   appropriations bill that Congress passed into law late Friday,
   overriding President Donald Trump's veto.

   The law forces "beneficial owners" behind shell companies to report
   their identities to the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement
   Network, or FinCEN.

   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.

   "For years, experts routinely ranked anonymous shell companies ... as
   the biggest weakness in our anti-money-laundering safeguards," said Ian
   Gary, executive director of the FACT Coalition, which lobbied for the
   legislation.

   "It's the single most important step we could take to better protect
   our financial system from abuse," he added.

   The United Nations estimates that $800 billion to $2 trillion is
   laundered through the global financial system every year.

   While much of the attention has focused on tax havens like Panama and
   the Cayman Islands, experts say that the size of the U.S. economy, and
   its ability to absorb billions of dollars without notice, has made it
   crucial for converting illicit funds into legitimate assets.

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