The National Defense Authorization Act, passed by
the U.S. House and Senate at the end of 2020, contained a piece of
legislation intended to increase transparency into shell companies
to combat money laundering and criminal behavior: the Corporate
Transparency Act (CTA). The CTA will create a massive registry of
the "beneficial owners" of "reporting
companies" with the U.S. Department of the Treasury's
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). A "beneficial
owner" is any individual who owns a 25% stake in a reporting
company, or exercises substantial control – a term that has
not yet been defined – over the reporting company. A
"reporting company" is, simply put (and with a few
exceptions excluded for brevity), any small, privately held,
for-profit entity formed or registered in the U.S. In particular,
companies with (i) more than 20 full-time employees; (ii) more than
$5 million in annual gross receipts or sales; and (iii) an
operating presence at a U.S. physical office are excluded from the
reporting requirements, as the regulations are meant to provide
insight into the ownership of U.S. companies with small or limited
operations. Obviously, though, many small companies that are not
engaged in money laundering or criminal behavior will likewise be
swept up by these requirements.
Banks and financial institutions have been obligated to inquire
into the identity of beneficial owners for some time – for
example, many readers may be familiar with bank "know your
customer" requirements. The CTA, however, shifts the burden of
collecting and reporting ownership information, including name,
birth date, address, and unique identification number (for example,
a driver's license or passport number) to the companies
themselves. Companies will need to submit this information at their
formation, as well as keep it up to date. Registry information will
not be public, but can be shared in many instances, such as after
an inquiry from a law enforcement agency.
Intentionally submitting incorrect information to FinCEN is
punishable by financial penalties, as well as potential
imprisonment. Furthermore, any company engaging in a separate
verification or diligence process, such as a bank "know your
customer" review, will need to make sure any information in
the FinCEN registry matches the information provided to the
inquiring party.
Regulations implementing the CTA are expected later this year, and
will hopefully address many of the outstanding questions seeking
clarity about who must report, and when. In particular, many are
waiting eagerly for information about how to calculate
"ownership" and what will constitute "substantial
control," anticipating that the final rules governing both
issues will be lengthy and complex. Furthermore, developing the
government infrastructure to collect, store, and update this
information will itself be a massive undertaking. We are keeping a
close watch on developments in this area, since the CTA will likely
create the most significant burden (in terms of legal fees required
time) for our smallest clients.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.