Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Tuesday that she is concerned about the commitment between the United States and more than 20 governments to create a corporate ownership registry to more effectively fight corruption.
Yellen announced the new initiative, which includes measures to implement the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) standards for transparency and beneficial ownership of companies, at the State Department’s Department of Democracy.
The role requires subscribing countries to enact laws and regulatory frameworks to ensure that law enforcement agencies and other authorities have effective access to company-owned information.
This aims to make it more difficult for corrupt actors to hide their identities, assets and criminal activities through opaque corporate structures and partnerships.
“This task is in line with the revised FATF standard, which requires countries to increase the transparency of legal entities, such as companies and prevent their abuse,” Yellen said.
“And it reaffirms the support that the United States and its public partners are sharing in improving transparency, fighting corruption, and protecting the rule of law.”
Yellen’s request came after the financial crisis that, according to what they said, was connected to the corruption of the banking sector.
Last week, Yellen had called financial regulators to a tumultuous meeting to try to stop the banking crisis, which is now threatening to destabilize Germany’s main bank, Deutsche Bank.
This week the Argentine president Albert Fernández was in the United States of America to hold a bilateral meeting with Joe Biden with his Americans. Economy Minister Sergio Massa will accompany him and meet with the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva.
