New Senate Bill Combats Shell Companies United Nations Debates Tax Havens

Washington DC - A bipartisan group of Senators introduced the "Improving Laundering Laws and Increasing Comprehensive Information Tracking of Criminal Activity in Shell Holdings (ILLICIT CASH) Act" to stop the creation of shell corporations in the United States. The announcement came within hours of world leaders raising concerns about tax havens and shell companies during the UN General Assembly High Level Dialogue on Financing for Development.

"Shell companies support human trafficking and drain billions from developing countries," said Eric LeCompte, UN finance expert and Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network. “This bipartisan legislation can help stop US States from being used as tax havens.”

Senators Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Doug Jones (D-AL), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), John Kennedy (R-LA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) sponsored the legislation, which would require shell companies to disclose their true owners to the US Department of Treasury.

"Anonymous shell companies have exploited vulnerable communities through Medicaid fraud and stolen development aid in the developing world,” noted LeCompte.