U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) have introduced a bill to combat the ability of kleptocrats and criminals to hide their ill-gotten gains and commit financial crimes in the United States.
The Establishing New Authorities for Businesses Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security (ENABLERS) Act would strengthen federal due diligence and transparency requirements to include certain professionals, like investment advisors, attorneys, and accountants. These types of professionals are often exploited to hide illicit money or carry out financial crimes.
“America is in a clash of civilizations, and on the other side are international kleptocrats and criminals who exploit our laws and financial system right under our nose. We must prevent adversaries from hiding loot within our borders,” Whitehouse said. “This bipartisan measure would require basic transparency in a number of professions that bad actors seek out to hide their ill-gotten gains. We already expect that kind of transparency from many institutions, like our banking system. I’m pleased we’ve arrived at a sensible, bipartisan solution to address this threat.”
Some of the world’s most corrupt individuals – including high-ranking oligarchs in Vladimir Putin’s regime – have stowed large sums of money in countries like the U.S. They often deploy intricate financial transactions and shell corporations, which often require assistance from Western professionals, including certain Americans. The United States is among the last 10 percent of countries not to have implemented the necessary transparency and due diligence solutions to stop this from happening. As a result, America is one of the best places in the world to “hide and launder ill-gotten gains.”
But this would be corrected via the ENABLERS Act.
“Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine has exposed the deep reach of oligarchs and kleptocrats who have used their wealth and influence to drive global conflict,” Wicker said. “The United States should be doing everything within reason to root out this corruption and keep foreign bad actors from exploiting our financial system. This legislation would put that abuse in the crosshairs by requiring greater transparency in certain industries to help protect our country.”
U.S. Reps. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Maria Salazar (R-FL), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), and Richard Hudson (R-NC) have attached similar legislation to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act.