NEW: The incoming Biden administration is poised to crack down on wealthy and well-connected lawbreakers, reversing years of decline in the federal government's enforcement of white-collar crime. by @LoopEmma in @Politicsinsider ($) ow.ly/LsVp50CTvxh
That would mark a sweeping shift for the Department of Justice compared to both recent Democratic and Republican presidents who have allowed prosecutions of white-collar crime to drop to an all-time low.
But as President-elect Joe Biden takes the reins in January, former federal prosecutors, academics, and lawmakers told Insider that there are two key reasons the new administration is well positioned to start reversing that trend.
They cite foremost Biden's Cabinet picks as a sign the new executive branch will more aggressively fight white-collar crime — in particular, financial crimes like $ laundering & fraud that can rob everyday people of their savings & handicap entire cities by draining public funds.
One expert dubbed Janet Yellen, Biden's choice for the crucial post of Treasury secretary, "an incorruptible schoolmarm" who will take a tougher stance on overseeing the financial industry.
Two of Biden's top contenders to lead the Department of Justice — outgoing Alabama Sen. Doug Jones and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates — are also experienced former federal prosecutors with long records of going after white-collar criminals.
Biden's administration should also have a powerful new law at its disposal to go after people like Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chair who admitted to using shell companies to hide the proceeds of his crimes in a 2018 plea deal with the special counsel Robert Mueller.
Earlier this month, Congress passed the biggest reforms to the US anti-money-laundering regime since the post-9/11 Patriot Act, including a rule forcing new shell companies to reveal their true owners to regulators.
Lawmakers tucked the legislation inside a massive defense policy bill that Trump vetoed on Wednesday, though the bill appears to have enough support from members of both parties to override the lame-duck president.
If the bill becomes law, Biden's admin "will have a once-in-a-generation chance to put an end to US corporations with hidden owners — the US shell companies being misused by criminals around the world," said Elise Bean, a former Senate staffer who investigated financial crime.
"The whole world will be watching what the Biden administration does to implement the long-awaited beneficial ownership law, so it's going to be a high-profile issue from day one," Bean added.
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