The U.S. Is a Haven for Money Laundering. That Might Be About to Change.

A man walks through the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, empty of tourists as only essential staff and journalists are allowed to work during the coronavirus pandemic, in Washington on March 24. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The phrase “shell company” conjures images of offshore havens such as Panama or the British Virgin Islands, but one of the world’s leading enablers of financial secrecy is actually the United States. In every state, more personal details and proof of identity are required to get a library card than to form a company; the United States is one of the last advanced economies not to require company ownership information that could help crack down on terrorists, drug kingpins, and those evading U.S. sanctions. 

That might soon change. Last week, the House approved its version of the sprawling, must-pass $740 million defense authorization bill, which included amendments to require companies to disclose their true owners. If those provisions survive in the final congressional bill—the Senate has its own defense authorization bill—advocates say it would be the most significant anti-corruption measure taken by the United States in decades.