Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

US moves toward public registers

US moves toward public registers

Echoing a push in the United Kingdom and its territories toward greater corporate transparency, the United States House of Representatives last week passed a bipartisan bill requiring companies to disclose their beneficial owners to the government.

The Corporate Transparency Act (H.R. 2513), which passed 249-173, would “close significant loopholes that are commonly abused by bad actors and will make it harder for terrorists, traffickers, corrupt officials, and other criminals to hide, launder, move and use their money,” according to a statement from the US House Committee on Financial Services.

Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY ), Peter King (R-NY) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) sponsored the bill, which require companies - including large and small corporations and limited liability entities -to disclose their true owners to the US Treasury and keep the information up to date. The Treasury would in turn make the information available to law enforcement personnel.


Next steps

The bill now moves to the Senate, which has introduced a similar bill.
A statement from the White House praised the proposed law, calling it “a measure that will help prevent malign actors from leveraging anonymity to exploit these entities for criminal gain,” even as it urged “certain steps” for improvement as the bill moved through the legislative process. These recommended steps include aligning the definition of “beneficial owner” to the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s Customer Due Diligence Final Rule; protecting small businesses from unduly burdensome disclosure requirements; and providing for adequate access controls for the information.


Groups weigh in

Some advocacy groups praised the move, but other condemned it. Alexandria Robins, a policy officer with international anti-corruption watchdog Global Witness, which lobbied in favour of the bill, praised it as a critical effort to “stand up against criminals, kleptocrats and fraudsters that use the US as a haven for their dirty money.”

However, the National Federation of Independent Business, a Tennessee-based organisation that was one of 36 pro-business groups that lobbied against the bill, slammed it as an attempt to “shift a paperwork reporting requirement from big banks to America’s smallest businesses,” citing a study it performed that suggested businesses would face $5.7 billion in new regulatory costs.

The NFIB also expressed concern over a provision that it claimed would allow the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to make public the sensitive personal information of business owners.

According to the text of the bill, FinCEN may “make materials available to financial institutions and the public using beneficial ownership information … if such information is aggregated in a manner that removes all personally identifiable information.”


Around the world

The US has so far lagged behind the UK and European Union in setting up public registers of beneficial ownership.

In 2018, Parliament passed legislation allowing the UK to order the Virgin Islands and the other overseas territories to implement public registers by 2020, though they subsequently received a government reprieve until 2023.

The Crown dependencies and some British overseas territories such as the Cayman Islands have subsequently expressed willingness to take steps toward implementing the registers by 2023. The VI government has repeatedly said they will enact public registers only when they become a global standard.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
×