By Mizraim Belman Guerrero
Last year, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act to reveal the real owners of so-called anonymous shell companies to authorities. Treasury is responsible for implementing the law to curb corruption, tax evasion and criminal activity. Jubilee USA Network, a religious development coalition that worked for 10 years to pass the law, answered Treasury's call to send feedback on the draft enforcement rule.
“The Corporate Transparency Act is a historic, bipartisan effort to stop public officials from stealing money and prevent crimes like human trafficking,” said Eric LeCompte, the Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network. “We responded to Treasury's call for feedback because we want the strongest law possible to stop aid theft in developing countries.”
Jubilee USA organized a letter signed by more than 100 religious organizations, congregations and faith-based communities urging Congress to pass the act. For more than a decade, the religious development group generated tens of thousands of phone calls, e-mails and letters to Congress calling for the transparency legislation.
"We've seen how these shell companies helped dictators take and hide debt relief and other vital forms of aid in poor countries," noted Aldo Caliari who serves as Jubilee USA's Senior Director of Policy and Strategy. Caliari submitted the feedback to Treasury. "The law is progress and there is more we need to do to bring some of these bad actors into the light."
Last May, Jubilee USA offered initial feedback on the same enforcement rule to Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
"The White House supports financial transparency as a national security priority and the enforcement of this is law is critical to that priority,” added LeCompte. “We reiterated support for points that we hope stay in the final rule, but there are also some loopholes that we want to close.”
Read Jubilee USA's Comments on Corporate Transparency Act Proposed Rulemaking here.
Read Jubilee USA's Corporate Transparency Act letter supported by over a hundred groups here.
Read Jubilee USA's Comments on Corporate Transparency Act Advanced Proposed Rulemaking here.
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