Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, as well as other members of the Senate Banking Committee, Mark Warner, D-Virginia, Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, and Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, unveiled Monday draft bipartisan legislation aimed to improve corporate transparency, strengthen national security and help law enforcement combat illicit financial activity being carried out by terrorists, drug and human traffickers and other criminals.
“As a former U.S. Attorney, I am all too familiar with criminals hiding behind shell corporations to enable their illegal behavior,” Jones said. “At the same time, our anti-money laundering laws have not kept pace with the increasingly sophisticated means by which criminals and terrorist organizations use our financial system to move their money around the world. This bipartisan legislation addresses both challenges and gives law enforcement the tools they need to protect Americans and prosecute criminals.”
The Improving Laundering Laws and Increasing Comprehensive Information Tracking of Criminal Activity in Shell Holdings Act — the ILLICIT CASH Act — would require shell companies that are often used as fronts for criminal activity to disclose their true owners to the U.S. Department of Treasury. It would also update anti-money laundering policies and combat the financing of terrorism by giving treasury and law enforcement the tools they need to fight criminal networks.
This includes improving overall communication between law enforcement, financial institutions and regulators and facilitating the adoption of new technology.
