Criminals, Terrorists, Kleptocrats, and Tax Evaders Currently Abusing Anonymous American Corporations to Launder Money, Shield Themselves from Law Enforcement
WASHINGTON, DC – Two recent articles published in The New York Times expose how criminals, terrorists, corrupt foreign politicians, and tax evaders abuse anonymous U.S. shell companies to launder their profits and impede law enforcement investigators, highlighting the need—says Global Financial Integrity (GFI)—for Congress to enact legislation requiring disclosure of the true (human) beneficial owners of corporations, trusts and foundations.
Money does not move on its own. It has to be moved by a person. And if the money is illicit, efforts have to be made to disguise the source, movement and destination of the funds. Attorneys, bankers, hawaladars, governments that permit the creation of anonymous shell companies and bearer share companies, couriers, title and real estate companies, escrow agents, and others must be involved.
All of these people can be classified as facilitators for their different roles, but this panel must not end without everybody in this room understanding that every facilitator who has some level of knowledge that the money they are handling may come from some sort of crime is a criminal in their own right. These facilitators are money launderers.
The United States has a strong national interest in economic, political and civil stability in Mexico. Its war against transnational drug cartels has dramatically highlighted Mexico’s problems, but the truth is that the nation has had deep, unsolved, structural problems in its economy and an opaque international financial system for decades.
Global Financial Integrity’s report on Mexico found that $872 billion in illicit finances left the country from 1970 through 2010. Although some laundered drug money may be included in that figure, it overwhelmingly represents tax evasion by both domestic and multinational corporations doing business in Mexico, as well as corruption, kickbacks and bribery from wealthy Mexican public officials and business leaders.
Anonymous U.S. Shell Companies Facilitating Wildlife Crime, Arms Trafficking, Drug Smuggling, and Terrorist Financing – Explains GFI’s Tom Cardamone in Written Testimony Submitted to Committee
GFI Managing Director Tom Cardamone testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on May 24, 2014 at a hearing titled “Ivory and Insecurity: The Global Implications of Poaching in Africa.”
U.S. Anonymous Shell Companies Facilitating Wildlife Crime, Arms Trafficking, Drug Smuggling, and Terrorist Financing – Explains Cardamone in Written Testimony Submitted to Committee
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) Managing Director Tom Cardamone will testify tomorrow before the full U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on the global security implications of poaching in Africa, explaining how the opaque structures in the international financial system—particularly anonymous American shell companies—facilitate illicit wildlife trafficking, drug smuggling, arms dealing and even terrorist financing.
Legislation Enjoys Support of Law Enforcement, Obama Administration; Would Clean-Up American Financial System
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, 41 business and civil society groups sent a letter to every member of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate urging them to co-sponsor the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act (S. 1483/ H.R. 3416). This bipartisan bill, which is endorsed by the Obama Administration, would require companies to disclose their ultimate owners at the time of incorporation, making it much harder for corrupt politicians, tax dodgers, terrorists and other criminals to form and hide behind anonymous U.S. shell companies.
GFI Spokespeople Available for Comment on Apple, Tax Avoidance, Transfer Mispricing, Tax Haven Abuse
WASHIGNTON, DC – A front-page article in Sunday’s edition of The New York Times drew attention to shady accounting techniques utilized by Apple Inc, the technology giant, to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes each year. However, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) notes that Apple’s tax dodging is only one example of a larger problem: most multinational enterprises abuse tax haven secrecy. Tax haven abuses are estimated to cost the Internal Revenue Service US$100 billion per year and developing economies roughly US$1 trillion annually.
New Rule Still Exempts Many Jurisdictions; GFI Urges IRS to Expand Requirement to Accounts Held by All Non-Resident Aliens
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) applauded the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for last night adopting a regulation (TD 9584) requiring banks to report information about interest earned on U.S. deposit accounts held by non-resident aliens, as banks have been required to do for accounts held by American citizens and Canadians. GFI and others have long advocated for implementation of this rule as an important tool in the fight against international tax evasion, money laundering, drug trafficking, corruption, and terrorist financing.
