Growing bipartisan interest in beneficial ownership transparency (FCPA Blog)
April 11, 2018The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently renewed Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that temporarily require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” for high-end residential real estate in select markets. This is the third time the GTOs have been extended. Read more
Trump sold $1.5 billion of condos to potential money launderers thanks to this gaping loophole (Quartz)
January 12, 2018Shell companies can provide an extraordinary level of secrecy, making it impossible for even the seller to know who they’re making a deal with. That helps out a huge array of people who want to hide illicit funds. As Shruti Shah of anti-corruption NGO Coalition for Integrity puts it, shell firms’ secrecy makes them “a favorite tool for just about any criminal from tax evaders and money launderers to drug traffickers and kleptocrats.” Read more
Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos to Unknown Buyers (Buzzfeed news)
January 12, 2018“It’s not that common for someone to buy expensive real estate with cash, and if it’s a shell company, you want to find out who the buyer is and the sources of their funds,” said Shruti Shah, vice president of programs and operations at the Coalition for Integrity, an anti-corruption group. “It could be illicit money from foreign corruption, drug trafficking, human trafficking – all sorts of bad things.” Read more
Integrity First
December 4, 2017Foreign Services Journal, December, 2017. Alan Larson – Chairman, Board of Directors, Coalition for Integrity, Inc., Ambassador, retired, DC. Read more
Shruti Shah and Marian Currinder: Friends don’t shower money and gifts on friends (FCPA Blog)
November 27, 2017The McDonnell decision has likely made it easier for politicians to engage in ethically questionable behavior. In the absence of much stricter gift laws or precedent changing court decisions, what can be done? For one, politicians can simply pledge to not accept extravagant gifts from their friends. Read more
C4I Calls on President Trump to Lead by Example
November 17, 2017Coalition for Integrity calls on President Trump to fully separate himself from his businesses and be transparent about his past business dealings, including at the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama. The Narco-A-Lago story also highlights how essential it is that people involved in the real estate industry conduct due diligence on buyers’ identities and the sources of their funds to avoid misuse of the property market by money launderers and other criminals. Read more
Shruti Shah: Every big corruption story features anonymous companies (FCPA Blog)
November 16, 2017How much do “ordinary folk” benefit from secret offshore structures when the main beneficiaries are a wealthy minority, often expats? The ability to conceal illicitly obtained funds fuels corruption, breeds instability and diverts resources from those who should benefit. Read more
C4I Urges Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Following Paradise Papers Leak
November 6, 2017Coalition for Integrity calls for collection of beneficial ownership information by all jurisdictions following the massive Paradise Papers leak. Read more
C4I on the Paradise Papers and Shell Companies
November 6, 2017Shruti Shah speaks with the BBC about the Paradise Papers and shell companies. Watch the interview
Shruti Shah: Paradise Papers show need to close beneficial owner loopholes (FCPA Blog)
November 6, 2017While shell companies have legitimate uses, their opacity makes them a favorite tool for tax evaders, money launderers, corrupt public officials and other criminals. The leaks also shine a light on the role of offshore tax havens. Read more