EMA Strongly Opposes Money Laundering ENABLERS Act

EMA joined 74 other groups in strong opposition to the EEstablishing New Authorities for Business Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security (ENABLERS) Act, which passed the House as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The Act would require covered businesses, foundations, and charities to collect and report beneficial ownership information, report suspicious transactions, and establish and enforce anti-money laundering policies.

This legislation would dramatically expand the recently enacted Corporate Transparency Act’s (CTA) reporting requirements.

While the stated goal is to increase reporting by “professional service providers who serve as key gatekeepers to the U.S. financial system,” its broad language would cover the owners, board members, and senior executives of most businesses and charities.

Anyone engaged in an entity’s formation, acquisition, or disposal would be covered, as would owners and employees engaged in nearly every financial activity of the business, including money management, payment processing, wire transfers, or buying and selling currencies.

These covered individuals would be subject to audits conducted by the Treasury Department initially, while the Act requires Treasury to recommend additional enforcement tools after a year.

The irony is that neither the ENABLERS Act nor the Corporation Transparency Act are likely to improve our law enforcement efforts as they both rely on criminals to self-report their crimes.

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