International Anti-Corruption Day was Dec. 9, and a number of international bodies marked the occasion by lobbying the United Nations to put an end to anonymous shell companies used by criminals to hide their identities and launder illicit funds. Two days later, on Friday, the United States took a significant step in this direction, with Congress passing a defense spending bill that includes language to require corporations to identify who owns and controls them (i.e., beneficial ownership).
The development reminded me of Eddie Murphy’s line from the film “Trading Places”: “I can see! I can see!” While Murphy used the line to support the pretense a couple of police officers cured his faked blindness, anti-money laundering (AML) practitioners might soon be saying the same in the real-world fight against financial crime.
