I just found out about this on another sub. Apparently it requires small businesses (less than 20 full-time employees) to report personal information of beneficial shareholders to a federal database.

I’d post the link to the analysis, but this sub doesn’t allow links. Search “nixonpeabody The Corporate Transparency Act—What you need to know” for more info.

Corporations or LLCs formed before January 2024 have until January 2025 to file or else:

“A willful failure to report complete or updated beneficial ownership information to FinCEN or the willful provision of or attempt to provide false or fraudulent beneficial ownership information may result in civil or criminal penalties, including civil penalties of up to $500 for each day the violation continues, or criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to two years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.”

Upon further reading, it seems less like an actual means to combat “financial crimes,” much more like the Fed’s way of creating a centralized database of small businesses.

Many of the reporting exemptions leave loopholes for exactly the type of shell companies and “investment groups,” typically engaged in financial crimes.