A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the U.S. Treasury Department to swiftly implement the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which upgrades the country’s anti-money laundering laws and imposes sanctions on Russian oligarchs.
Congress passed the CTA last year. It addressed one of the biggest weaknesses in the country’s anti-money laundering safeguards — anonymous shell companies that hide the true, beneficial owners of assets. Beneficial ownership disclosure, as required by the CTA, is particularly relevant amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since such information is necessary to implement U.S. sanctions against Russian oligarchs and protect the stability of the U.S. financial system.
However, the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has thus far only proposed one of three planned CTA rules and is now four months past the deadline for implementation. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Himamauli Das, acting director of FinCEN, urging them to accelerate its implementation of the CTA.
“The Treasury Department has yet to finalize the implementation of the CTA—or even set a timetable for its completion… In various hearings last month, both of you could only commit to proposing the second CTA rule by the end of ‘this year.’ These delays run contrary to the clear instructions of Congress, undermine American efforts to respond to Russia’s war against Ukraine, and hinder broader efforts to protect the U.S. financial system against the threat of illicit finance,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter.
The lawmakers are requesting an update and a timeline for implementation by May 23.