© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
(Reuters) – Get ready for some major changes in cracking down on corruption and money laundering! The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has just detailed its plan for granting access to new data about shell company ownership to certain government agencies, law enforcement, and financial firms.
FinCEN is stepping up its game with a new rule that will require certain companies to report beneficial ownership data starting in 2024. This is all part of an effort by lawmakers and the Treasury Department under President Joe Biden.
The new rule, finalized on Thursday, comes after the 2021 passage of the Corporate Transparency Act, a law aimed at combating illicit finance.
FinCEN will be rolling out access to the data first through a pilot program with a handful of government agencies, before broadening out access to other federal agencies and state, local, and tribal authorities.
The aim of all of this is to combat the flow of dirty money from all over the world, which undermines fair business competition and poses a risk to our country’s economic and national security. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is all for it, stating, “Thanks to the new beneficial ownership framework, we’re making tremendous progress toward changing this.”
