Under current U.S. law, when criminal organizations want to hide their money laundering and financing activities from law enforcement officials, they have the means to do so. The result is the United States has become an international haven for dangerous enterprises who hide behind anonymous shell companies.

This is due to the fact that our corporate privacy laws suffer from a massive loophole – shell companies do not have to disclose beneficial ownership information when forming. Consequently, when law enforcement agencies are investigating cases against these criminals, they often hit a dead end when the trail leads to anonymous shell companies.

Fortunately, some common-sense legislation has been introduced by a bi-partisan team of U.S. Senators who understand we should strike the right balance between privacy protection and national security. The Illicit Cash Act will provide law enforcement the tools needed to identify criminal activity in our nation’s financial system.

The disclosure requirements are straightforward. It requires no more information than you would have to provide when renting a car – name, address, date of birth and driver’s license or passport number. Furthermore, the directory that houses that information is only available to authorized users and must be accessed in the course of an active law enforcement investigation.

The United States is woefully behind the rest of the world in preventing and stopping financial crimes. The U.S. has been criticized by the inter-governmental body for combating illicit finance. With growing national security threats as well as the increased sophistication of criminals closer to home like opioid smugglers, it is clear the status quo leaves all Americans vulnerable.

The Illicit Cash Act is an immediate way to close the loophole that protects criminal activity and prevents law enforcement agencies from carrying out their missions to keep the public safe.