Stress –
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday reaffirmed her commitment to corporate transparency, along with more than 20 other countries participating in the Democracy Summit this week.
While the US government is already working to create a small business database, Yellen vowed on Tuesday that her department would maintain that database, known as a register of beneficial properties, which law enforcement agencies will have access to and who will be protected. of particulars.
“The most profitable money register will keep dirty money out of the United States,” Yellen said in a speech before the start of the summit.
The register will contain the personal information of the owners of at least 32 million companies, part of an effort to fight corruption.
Colombia, Malta and Japan are some of the countries included in the agreement.
“Exposing the company shell is the most important thing we can do to corrupt our inhospitable financial institutions,” Yellen said. He added that efforts with other countries in recent months to track down Russian-sanctioned assets have “our vulnerabilities” when it comes to retrieving business owners.
The United States is trying to crack down on illicit financing — partly in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — by identifying wealthy Russians accused of hiding money and property in the United States and around the world.
Democracy begins on Wednesday. The United States is following the event along with the governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Zambia.
In September of last year, the Treasury Department began drafting guidelines to create a small business database. The rule requires most US businesses with fewer than 20 employees to register with the government by January 1, 2024.
“I’ve seen corrupt foreign officials hide stolen funds in companies in the United States; we’ve seen kleptocrats launder money through anonymous purchases of foreign real estate and we’ve seen elites transfer corrupt funds through complicit or unskilled insiders such as lawyers or financial advisors,” Yellen stated.
