Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

US moves toward public registers

US moves toward public registers

Echoing a push in the United Kingdom and its territories toward greater corporate transparency, the United States House of Representatives last week passed a bipartisan bill requiring companies to disclose their beneficial owners to the government.

The Corporate Transparency Act (H.R. 2513), which passed 249-173, would “close significant loopholes that are commonly abused by bad actors and will make it harder for terrorists, traffickers, corrupt officials, and other criminals to hide, launder, move and use their money,” according to a statement from the US House Committee on Financial Services.

Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY ), Peter King (R-NY) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) sponsored the bill, which require companies - including large and small corporations and limited liability entities -to disclose their true owners to the US Treasury and keep the information up to date. The Treasury would in turn make the information available to law enforcement personnel.


Next steps

The bill now moves to the Senate, which has introduced a similar bill.
A statement from the White House praised the proposed law, calling it “a measure that will help prevent malign actors from leveraging anonymity to exploit these entities for criminal gain,” even as it urged “certain steps” for improvement as the bill moved through the legislative process. These recommended steps include aligning the definition of “beneficial owner” to the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s Customer Due Diligence Final Rule; protecting small businesses from unduly burdensome disclosure requirements; and providing for adequate access controls for the information.


Groups weigh in

Some advocacy groups praised the move, but other condemned it. Alexandria Robins, a policy officer with international anti-corruption watchdog Global Witness, which lobbied in favour of the bill, praised it as a critical effort to “stand up against criminals, kleptocrats and fraudsters that use the US as a haven for their dirty money.”

However, the National Federation of Independent Business, a Tennessee-based organisation that was one of 36 pro-business groups that lobbied against the bill, slammed it as an attempt to “shift a paperwork reporting requirement from big banks to America’s smallest businesses,” citing a study it performed that suggested businesses would face $5.7 billion in new regulatory costs.

The NFIB also expressed concern over a provision that it claimed would allow the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to make public the sensitive personal information of business owners.

According to the text of the bill, FinCEN may “make materials available to financial institutions and the public using beneficial ownership information … if such information is aggregated in a manner that removes all personally identifiable information.”


Around the world

The US has so far lagged behind the UK and European Union in setting up public registers of beneficial ownership.

In 2018, Parliament passed legislation allowing the UK to order the Virgin Islands and the other overseas territories to implement public registers by 2020, though they subsequently received a government reprieve until 2023.

The Crown dependencies and some British overseas territories such as the Cayman Islands have subsequently expressed willingness to take steps toward implementing the registers by 2023. The VI government has repeatedly said they will enact public registers only when they become a global standard.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×