Financial Transparency Coalition

You probably already know that the Swiss Alps and tiny Caribbean islands aren’t the only places to hide illicit activities behind a veil of banking secrecy. Maybe you know that tax evaders and money launderers are increasingly looking to Asian centers like Hong Kong and Singapore to store their ill-gotten and government-evading dollars. Maybe you even know that some of the best places to hide your black money aren’t in the developing world or on a remote island. They’re in places like Delaware, London, and Nevada. In Delaware and Wyoming, for example, clients can anonymously set up shell corporations (companies...

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced bi-partisan legislation today, which would require companies to disclose the names of the beneficial owners of corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) when formed. Anti-money laundering proponents, law enforcement groups, and financial transparency organizations consider the legislation, known as the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act of 2011, a crucial step toward strengthening law enforcement and keeping criminal and tax evading money out of the U.S.

A bill to ensure that persons who form corporations in the United States disclose the beneficial owners of those corporations, in order to prevent wrongdoers from exploiting United States corporations for criminal gain, to assist law enforcement in detecting, preventing, and punishing terrorism, money laundering, and other misconduct involving United States corporations, and for other purposes.