THE U.S. JUST BANNED ANONYMOUS SHELL COMPANIES nytimes.com/2021/01/01/us/…
Pardon the all-caps, but the Senate's veto override today means that the U.S. A) just eliminated the primary building block in America's transformation into an offshore haven, and B) passed the most sweeping counter-kleptocracy reforms in decades—potentially ever.
Incredible news, and an incredible way to start 2021. What a moment.
Huge boost to American credibility in the fight against modern kleptocracy. Huge blow to those who'd turned to the U.S. time and again for their laundering needs, and those U.S. states that had transformed into money laundering havens of their own.
Just phenomenal news.
Again, this is a massive testament to all those who exposed the rot these anonymous shell companies led to, especially the journalists who exposed the laundering networks and civil society activists pressuring legislators to make this change (when it seemed next to impossible).
The fight against anonymity, and these American kleptocratic building blocks, is hardly over. Trusts, real estate, private equity, hedge funds, art houses, auction houses... much work remains.
But today is absolutely a day to celebrate.
One other thing: This was not only a clear rebuke to Trump (and the first veto override!), but it was absolutely a bipartisan endeavor. The legislation banning shell companies couldn't have been passed without a broad, broad base of support and stakeholders, across the aisle.
Shameless self-plug, but if you're interested in how the anonymous American shell company industry first developed, and how it helped transform the U.S. into money laundering nirvana—why today is such a huge deal—you can pre-order my book here:
Statement from Transparency International U.S. (@transparencyUSA) on today's landmark passage:
'This is the first significant update to our anti-money laundering laws in twenty years, and one of the most important anti-corruption measures ever passed by the U.S. Congress.'
This is exactly right from Josh. Today's legislation is the biggest US anti-money laundering move *at least* since the Patriot Act. Given the magnitude of crimes anonymous US shell companies are involved in, it could end up being the most important ever.
Banning anonymous U.S. shell companies is obviously huge, huge news—but it's not the only anti-corruption/counter-kleptocracy win today. For example:
'It’s a huge step forward in fighting illicit finance at home and around the globe.' independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…
Yesterday's move to ban anonymous U.S. shell companies was a massive counter-kleptocracy victory, and is a huge boost for all that remains to be done—some of which I laid out here for the new Biden administration: newrepublic.com/article/160461…
Banning anonymous U.S. shell companies is 'the single most important step we could have taken to better protect our financial system from abuse.' wsj.com/articles/defen…
One other exciting bit of the NDAA: It mandates new studies on the money laundering threat posed by American trusts. vox.com/22188223/congr…
Remarkable thread here, and anyone interested in financial secrecy/transparency should be following Clark:
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