Thread by @cjcmichel

Very important day in Congress today: The House will be voting on whether to eliminate anonymous shell companies in the U.S., and help eliminate a favorite tool of kleptocrats everywhere. news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-repo…

Ending anonymous shell companies is the single greatest step America, and others, can take toward ending kleptocratic networks, and unwinding kleptocratic regimes. And every other jurisdiction should follow. newrepublic.com/article/155100…

Tough to overstate just how momentous ending U.S. anonymous shell companies would be.

Combating Russian/Venezuelan/Iranian kleptocracy? Helps with that. Combating arms, human, and narco-trafficking? Helps with that. Combating wealth inequality? Helps with that.

The U.S. perfected the art of the anonymous shell company (Wyoming literally invented the LLC!), and American lawyers helped export the model—to Nevis, to the British Virgin Islands, etc.

Undoing that is going to take years. But today could be a historic step in that direction.

In the Senate, the odds of passing the ILLICIT CASH Act (to also eliminate anonymous shells, and then some) are also looking up—especially because of the bipartisan support.

https://twitter.com/cjcmichel/status/1177316945290498051

Ending anonymous US shell companies isn't an anti-kleptocracy panacea (hello, anonymous perpetual trusts in South Dakota! thinkprogress.org/how-democrats-…), but it's the culmination of *years* of efforts.

Hopefully everyone involved in getting us to this point can enjoy a beer tonight.

New statement from White House on today's vote on Corporate Transparency Act: whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…

"The Administration believes this legislation represents important progress in strengthening national security, supporting law enforcement, clarifying regulatory requirements."

Rep. Malinowski is currently giving an impassioned speech on the House floor on the need to end anonymous shell companies in the U.S., talking about all the kleptocrats and crooks who've abused them: live.house.gov

And it's passed! For the first time in American history, the House has passed a bill banning anonymous shell companies: maloney.house.gov/media-center/p… Huge, huge, huge day for those trying to unwind the U.S.'s role as a global offshore mecca.

Statement from @Global_Witness on the passage of today's bill:

It's "an unprecedented step forward in global efforts to combat corruption and crime facilitated by companies with hidden owners and the U.S. financial system as well."

@Global_Witness The Corporate Transparency Act hasn't been signed into law yet, but, man, what a day. Remarkable how far the U.S. has come in even just the past two years on the anti-kleptocracy front. hudson.org/research/13981…