I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6098 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to ensure that persons who form 

corporations in the United States disclose the beneficial owners of those 

corporations, in order to prevent wrongdoers from exploiting United 

States corporations for criminal gain, to assist law enforcement in detecting, preventing, and punishing terrorism, money laundering, and other 

misconduct involving United States corporations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 10, 2010 

Mrs. MALONEY (for herself and Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to ensure that persons who form corporations in the United States disclose 

the beneficial owners of those corporations, in order to 

prevent wrongdoers from exploiting United States corporations for criminal gain, to assist law enforcement 

in detecting, preventing, and punishing terrorism, money 

laundering, and other misconduct involving United States 

corporations, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Incorporation Trans3 parency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Nearly 2,000,000 corporations and limited 

7 liability companies are being formed under the laws 

8 of the States each year. 

9 (2) Very few States obtain meaningful informa10 tion about the beneficial owners of the corporations 

11 and limited liability companies formed under their 

12 laws. 

13 (3) A person forming a corporation or limited 

14 liability company within the United States typically 

15 provides less information to the State of incorpora16 tion than is needed to obtain a bank account or driv17 er’s license and typically does not name a single ben18 eficial owner. 

19 (4) Criminals have exploited the weaknesses in 

20 State formation procedures to conceal their identi21 ties when forming corporations or limited liability 

22 companies in the United States, and have then used 

23 the newly created entities to commit crimes affecting 

24 interstate and international commerce such as ter25 rorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, tax evaVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 Aug 11, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6098.IH H6098

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1 sion, securities fraud, financial fraud, and acts of 

2 foreign corruption. 

3 (5) Law enforcement efforts to investigate cor4 porations and limited liability companies suspected 

5 of committing crimes have been impeded by the lack 

6 of available beneficial ownership information, as doc7 umented in reports and testimony by officials from 

8 the Department of Justice, the Department of 

9 Homeland Security, the Financial Crimes Enforce10 ment Network of the Department of the Treasury, 

11 the Internal Revenue Service, and the Government 

12 Accountability Office, and others. 

13 (6) In July 2006, a leading international anti14 money laundering organization, the Financial Action 

15 Task Force on Money Laundering (in this section 

16 referred to as the ‘‘FATF’’), of which the United 

17 States is a member, issued a report that criticizes 

18 the United States for failing to comply with a FATF 

19 standard on the need to collect beneficial ownership 

20 information and urged the United States to correct 

21 this deficiency by July 2008. 

22 (7) In response to the FATF report, the United 

23 States has repeatedly urged the States to strengthen 

24 their incorporation practices by obtaining beneficial 

25 ownership information for the corporations and limVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 Aug 11, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6098.IH H6098

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1 ited liability companies formed under the laws of 

2 such States. 

3 (8) Many States have established automated 

4 procedures that allow a person to form a new cor5 poration or limited liability company within the 

6 State within 24 hours of filing an online application, 

7 without any prior review of the application by a 

8 State official. In exchange for a substantial fee, 2 

9 States will form a corporation within 1 hour of a re10 quest. 

11 (9) Dozens of Internet websites highlight the 

12 anonymity of beneficial owners allowed under the in13 corporation practices of some States, point to those 

14 practices as a reason to incorporate in those States, 

15 and list those States together with offshore jurisdic16 tions as preferred locations for the formation of new 

17 corporations, essentially providing an open invitation 

18 to criminals and other wrongdoers to form entities 

19 within the United States. 

20 (10) In contrast to practices in the United 

21 States, all 27 countries in the European Union are 

22 required to have formation agents identify the bene23 ficial owners of the corporations formed under the 

24 laws of the country. 


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1 (11) To reduce the vulnerability of the United 

2 States to wrongdoing by United States corporations 

3 and limited liability companies with hidden owners, 

4 to protect interstate and international commerce 

5 from criminals misusing United States corporations 

6 and limited liability companies, to strengthen law en7 forcement investigations of suspect corporations and 

8 limited liability companies, to set minimum stand9 ards for and level the playing field among State in10 corporation practices, and to bring the United States 

11 into compliance with its international anti-money 

12 laundering obligations, Federal legislation is needed 

13 to require the States to obtain beneficial ownership 

14 information for the corporations and limited liability 

15 companies formed under the laws of such States. 

16 SEC. 3. TRANSPARENT INCORPORATION PRACTICES. 

17 (a) TRANSPARENT INCORPORATION PRACTICES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 31, 

19 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

20 section 5332 the following new section: 

21 ‘‘§ 5333. Transparent incorporation practices 

22 ‘‘(a) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 

24 2012, the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue regu25 lations requiring each corporation and limited liabilVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 Aug 11, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6098.IH H6098

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1 ity company formed in a State that does not have 

2 an incorporation system described under subsection 

3 (b) to file with the Secretary such information as the 

4 corporation or limited liability company would be re5 quired to provide the State if such State had an in6 corporation system described under subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

8 INFORMATION.—Beneficial ownership information 

9 reported to the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant 

10 to paragraph (1) shall be provided by the Secretary 

11 of the Treasury upon receipt of— 

12 ‘‘(A) a civil or criminal subpoena or sum13 mons from a State agency, Federal agency, or 

14 congressional committee or subcommittee re15 questing such information; or 

16 ‘‘(B) a written request made by a Federal 

17 agency on behalf of another country under an 

18 international treaty, agreement, or convention, 

19 or section 1782 of title 28, United States Code. 

20 ‘‘(b) INCORPORATION SYSTEM.—With respect to a 

21 State, an incorporation system is described under this sub22 section if it meets the following requirements: 

23 ‘‘(1) Each applicant to form a corporation or 

24 limited liability company under the laws of the State 

25 is required to provide to the State during the formaVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 Aug 11, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6098.IH H6098

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1 tion process a list of the beneficial owners of the cor2 poration or limited liability company that— 

3 ‘‘(A) except as provided in paragraph (6), 

4 identifies each beneficial owner by— 

5 ‘‘(i) name; 

6 ‘‘(ii) current address; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) non-expired passport issued by 

8 the United States or a non-expired drivers 

9 license issued by a State; and 

10 ‘‘(B) if any beneficial owner exercises con11 trol over the corporation or limited liability 

12 company through another legal entity, such as 

13 a corporation, partnership, or trust, identifies 

14 each such legal entity and each such beneficial 

15 owner who will use that entity to exercise con16 trol over the corporation or limited liability 

17 company. 

18 ‘‘(2) Each corporation or limited liability com19 pany formed under the laws of the State is required 

20 by the State to update the list of the beneficial own21 ers of the corporation or limited liability company by 

22 providing the information described in paragraph (1) 

23 to the State not later than 60 days after the date 

24 of any change in the list of beneficial owners or the 


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1 information required to be provided relating to each 

2 beneficial owner. 

3 ‘‘(3) Beneficial ownership information relating 

4 to each corporation or limited liability company 

5 formed under the laws of the State is required to be 

6 maintained by the State until the end of the 5-year 

7 period beginning on the date that the corporation or 

8 limited liability company terminates under the laws 

9 of the State. 

10 ‘‘(4) Beneficial ownership information relating 

11 to each corporation or limited liability company 

12 formed under the laws of the State shall be provided 

13 by the State upon receipt of— 

14 ‘‘(A) a civil or criminal subpoena or sum15 mons from a State agency, Federal agency, or 

16 congressional committee or subcommittee re17 questing such information; or 

18 ‘‘(B) a written request made by a Federal 

19 agency on behalf of another country under an 

20 international treaty, agreement, or convention, 

21 or section 1782 of title 28, United States Code. 

22 ‘‘(5) A corporation or limited liability company 

23 formed under the laws of the State may not issue 

24 a certificate in bearer form evidencing either a whole 


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1 or fractional interest in the corporation or limited li2 ability company. 

3 ‘‘(6) If any beneficial owner of a corporation or 

4 limited liability company formed under the laws of 

5 the State is not a United States citizen or a lawful 

6 permanent resident of the United States, each appli7 cation described in paragraph (1) and each update 

8 described in paragraph (2) shall include a written 

9 certification by a formation agent residing in the 

10 State that the formation agent— 

11 ‘‘(A) has verified the name, address, and 

12 identity of each beneficial owner that is not a 

13 United States citizen or a lawful permanent 

14 resident of the United States; 

15 ‘‘(B) has obtained for each beneficial 

16 owner that is not a United States citizen or a 

17 lawful permanent resident of the United States 

18 a legible and credible copy of the pages of a 

19 government-issued passport bearing a photo20 graph and unique identifying information for 

21 the beneficial owner; 

22 ‘‘(C) will provide proof of the verification 

23 described in subparagraph (A) and the photo24 graph described in subparagraph (B) upon re25 quest; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) will retain information and docu2 ments relating to the verification described in 

3 subparagraph (A) and the photograph described 

4 in subparagraph (B) until the end of the 5-year 

5 period beginning on the date that the corpora6 tion or limited liability company terminates, 

7 under the laws of the State. 

8 ‘‘(c) PENALTIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for— 

10 ‘‘(A) any person to affect interstate or for11 eign commerce by— 

12 ‘‘(i) knowingly providing, or attempt13 ing to provide, false or fraudulent bene14 ficial ownership information, including a 

15 false or fraudulent identifying photograph, 

16 to a State or licensed formation agent 

17 under State law in accordance with this 

18 section; 

19 ‘‘(ii) willfully failing to provide com20 plete or updated beneficial ownership infor21 mation to a State or licensed formation 

22 agent under State law in accordance with 

23 this section; or 

24 ‘‘(iii) knowingly disclosing the exist25 ence of a subpoena, summons, or other reVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 Aug 11, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6098.IH H6098

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1 quest for beneficial ownership information 

2 from a law enforcement agency under 

3 State law in accordance with this section 

4 without written authorization from the law 

5 enforcement agency; or 

6 ‘‘(B) any licensed formation agent to affect 

7 interstate or foreign commerce by willfully fail8 ing to obtain or maintain credible and legible 

9 beneficial ownership information, including any 

10 required identifying photograph, under State 

11 law in accordance with this section, or willfully 

12 failing to provide beneficial ownership informa13 tion in response to a subpoena, summons, or 

14 other request from a law enforcement agency in 

15 accordance with this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—In ad17 dition to any civil or criminal penalty that may be 

18 imposed by a State, any person who violates para19 graph (1) shall be liable to the United States for a 

20 civil penalty of not more than $10,000. 

21 ‘‘(d) FUNDING AUTHORIZATION.—To carry out this 

22 section, during the 3-year period beginning on the date 

23 of enactment of this section, upon application by a State, 

24 the Secretary shall make available to such State a reason25 able amount of funding from the Department of the 


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1 Treasury Forfeiture Fund established under section 

2 9703(a) of title 31, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(e) COMPLIANCE REPORT.—Nothing in this section 

4 authorizes the Secretary to withhold from a State any 

5 funding otherwise available to the State because of a fail6 ure by that State to comply with this section. Not later 

7 than June 1, 2014, the Comptroller General of the United 

8 States shall submit to the Committee on Financial Serv9 ices of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

10 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

11 Senate a report— 

12 ‘‘(1) identifying which States obtain beneficial 

13 ownership information as described in this section; 

14 ‘‘(2) with respect to each State that does not 

15 obtain such information, whether corporations and 

16 limited liability companies formed under the laws of 

17 such State are in compliance with this section and 

18 providing the specified beneficial ownership informa19 tion to the Secretary; and 

20 ‘‘(3) whether the Department of the Treasury is 

21 in compliance with this section and, if not, what 

22 steps it must take to come into compliance with this 

23 section. 

24 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

25 ‘‘(1) BENEFICIAL OWNER.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), the term ‘beneficial owner’ 

3 means a natural person who, directly or indi4 rectly— 

5 ‘‘(i) exercises substantial control over 

6 a corporation or limited liability company; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(ii) has a substantial interest in or 

9 receives substantial economic benefits from 

10 the assets of the corporation or limited li11 ability company described in clause (i). 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘beneficial 

13 owner’ does not include— 

14 ‘‘(i) a minor child; 

15 ‘‘(ii) a person acting as a nominee, 

16 intermediary, custodian, or agent on behalf 

17 of another person; 

18 ‘‘(iii) a person acting solely as an em19 ployee of a corporation or limited liability 

20 company, and whose control over or eco21 nomic benefits from the corporation or lim22 ited liability company derive solely from 

23 the employment status of the individual; 

24 ‘‘(iv) a person whose only interest in 

25 the corporation or limited liability company 


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1 is through a right of inheritance, unless 

2 the individual also meets the requirements 

3 of subparagraph (A); or 

4 ‘‘(v) a creditor of a corporation or 

5 limited liability company, unless the indi6 vidual also meets the requirements of sub7 paragraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—A beneficial owner 

9 meeting the requirements for an entity under 

10 paragraph (2)(B) may provide the name of the 

11 entity instead of the name of a natural person. 

12 ‘‘(2) CORPORATION; LIMITED LIABILITY COM13 PANY.—The terms ‘corporation’ and ‘limited liability 

14 company’— 

15 ‘‘(A) have the meanings given such terms 

16 under the laws of the applicable State; 

17 ‘‘(B) do not include any entity that is, and 

18 discloses in the application by the entity to 

19 form under the laws of the State or, if the enti20 ty was formed before the date of the enactment 

21 of this section, in a filing with the State under 

22 State law— 

23 ‘‘(i) a business concern that is an 

24 issuer of a class of securities registered 

25 under section 12 of the Securities ExVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 Aug 11, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6098.IH H6098

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1 change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 781) or 

2 that is required to file reports under sec3 tion 15(d) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 78o(d)); 

4 ‘‘(ii) a business concern formed by a 

5 State, a political subdivision of a State, 

6 under an interstate compact between 2 or 

7 more States, by a department or agency of 

8 the United States, or under the laws of the 

9 United States; 

10 ‘‘(iii) a depository institution (as de11 fined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit 

12 Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813)); 

13 ‘‘(iv) a credit union (as defined in sec14 tion 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act 

15 (12 U.S.C. 1752)); 

16 ‘‘(v) a financial holding company (as 

17 defined in section 2 of the Bank Holding 

18 Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841)); 

19 ‘‘(vi) a broker or dealer (as defined in 

20 section 3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 

21 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c)) that is registered 

22 under section 15 of the Securities and Ex23 change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78o); 

24 ‘‘(vii) an exchange or clearing agency 

25 (as defined in section 3 of the Securities 


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1 Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c)) 

2 that is registered under section 6 or 17A 

3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

4 (15 U.S.C. 78f and 78q–1); 

5 ‘‘(viii) an investment company (as de6 fined in section 3 of the Investment Com7 pany Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–3)) or 

8 an investment advisor (as defined in sec9 tion 202(11) of the Investment Advisors 

10 Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–2(11)), if the 

11 company or adviser is registered with the 

12 Securities and Exchange Commission, or 

13 has filed an application for registration 

14 which has not been denied, under the In15 vestment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 

16 80a–1 et seq.) or the Investment Advisor 

17 Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–1 et seq.); 

18 ‘‘(ix) an insurance company (as de19 fined in section 2 of the Investment Com20 pany Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–2)); 

21 ‘‘(x) a registered entity (as defined in 

22 section 1a of the Commodity Exchange Act 

23 (7 U.S.C. 1a)), or a futures commission 

24 merchant, introducing broker, commodity 

25 pool operator, or commodity trading adviVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 Aug 11, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6098.IH H6098

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1 sor (as defined in section 1a of the Com2 modity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a)) that 

3 is registered with the Commodity Futures 

4 Trading Commission; 

5 ‘‘(xi) a public accounting firm reg6 istered in accordance with section 102 of 

7 the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7212); 

8 ‘‘(xii) a public utility that provides 

9 telecommunications service, electrical 

10 power, natural gas, or water and sewer 

11 services, within the United States; 

12 ‘‘(xiii) a charity or nonprofit entity 

13 that is described in section 501(c), 527, or 

14 4947(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code 

15 of 1986, has not been denied tax exempt 

16 status, and has filed the most recently due 

17 annual information return with the Inter18 nal Revenue Service, if required to file 

19 such a return; 

20 ‘‘(xiv) any business concern that— 

21 ‘‘(I) employs more than 20 em22 ployees on a full time basis in the 

23 United States; 

24 ‘‘(II) files income tax returns in 

25 the United States demonstrating more 


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1 than $10,000,000 in gross receipts or 

2 sales; and 

3 ‘‘(III) has an operating presence 

4 at a physical office within the United 

5 States; or 

6 ‘‘(xv) any corporation or limited liabil7 ity company formed and owned by an enti8 ty described in clause (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), 

9 (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), 

10 (xiii), or (xiv); and 

11 ‘‘(C) do not include any individual business 

12 concern or class of business concerns which the 

13 Secretary of the Treasury, with the written con14 currence of the Attorney General of the United 

15 States, has determined in writing should be ex16 empt from the requirements of subsection (a), 

17 because requiring beneficial ownership informa18 tion from the business concern would not serve 

19 the public interest and would not assist law en20 forcement efforts to detect, prevent, or punish 

21 terrorism, money laundering, tax evasion, or 

22 other misconduct. 

23 ‘‘(3) FORMATION AGENT.—The term ‘formation 

24 agent’ means a person who, for compensation, acts 

25 on behalf of another person to assist in the formaVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 Aug 11, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6098.IH H6098

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1 tion of a corporation or limited liability company 

2 under the laws of a State.’’. 

3 (2) RULEMAKING.—To carry out this Act and 

4 the amendments made by this Act, the Secretary of 

5 the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security and the Attorney General of the 

7 United States, may issue guidance or a rule to clar8 ify application of the definitions added by this Act, 

9 or to specify how to verify beneficial ownership infor10 mation. 

11 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 31, 

12 United States Code, is amended— 

13 (A) in section 5321(a)— 

14 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sec15 tions 5314 and 5315’’ each place it ap16 pears and inserting ‘‘sections 5314, 5315, 

17 and 5333’’; and 

18 (ii) in paragraph (6), by inserting 

19 ‘‘(except section 5333)’’ after ‘‘sub20 chapter’’ each place it appears; and 

21 (B) in section 5322, by striking ‘‘section 

22 5315 or 5324’’ each place it appears and insert23 ing ‘‘section 5315, 5324, or 5333’’. 

24 (4) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con25 tents of Chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, 


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1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

2 section 5332 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 5333. Transparent incorporation practices.’’. 

3 (5) RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLIC ACCESS.—A 

4 State may— 

5 (A) restrict public access to all or any por6 tion of the beneficial ownership information 

7 provided to the State as described under section 

8 5332 of title 31, United States Code, as added 

9 by this Act; and 

10 (B) by statute, regulation, order, or inter11 pretation adopted or issued by the State after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, provide for 

13 public access to all or any portion of such infor14 mation. 

15 (6) NO DUTY OF VERIFICATION.—This Act and 

16 the amendments made by this Act do not impose 

17 any obligation on a State to verify the name, ad18 dress, or identity of a beneficial owner whose infor19 mation is submitted to such State under section 

20 5332 of title 31, United States Code, as added by 

21 this Act. 

22 (b) ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING OBLIGATIONS OF

23 FORMATION AGENTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5312(a)(2) of title 

25 31, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (Y), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

2 at the end; 

3 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (Z) as 

4 subparagraph (AA); and 

5 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (Y) 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(Z) any person involved in forming a cor8 poration or limited liability company; or’’. 

9 (2) DEADLINE FOR ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING

10 RULE FOR FORMATION AGENTS.— 

11 (A) PROPOSED RULE.—Not later than 90 

12 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

13 the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 

14 with the Attorney General of the United States 

15 and the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue 

16 Service, shall publish a proposed rule in the 

17 Federal Register requiring persons described in 

18 section 5312(a)(2)(Z) of title 31, United States 

19 Code, as amended by this subsection, to estab20 lish anti-money laundering programs under sub21 section (h) of section 5318 of that title. 

22 (B) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 270 

23 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

24 the Secretary of the Treasury shall publish the 


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1 rule described in this subsection in final form in 

2 the Federal Register. 

3 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—Any rule promulgated 

4 under this subsection shall exclude from the 

5 category of persons involved in forming a cor6 poration or limited liability company— 

7 (i) any government agency; and 

8 (ii) any attorney or law firm that uses 

9 a paid formation agent operating within 

10 the United States to form the corporation 

11 or limited liability company. 

12 SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT13 ABILITY OFFICE. 

14 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

16 shall conduct a study and submit to the Congress a re17 port— 

18 (1) identifying each State that has procedures 

19 that enable persons to form or register under the 

20 laws of the State partnerships, trusts, or other legal 

21 entities, and the nature of those procedures; 

22 (2) identifying each State that requires persons 

23 seeking to form or register partnerships, trusts, or 

24 other legal entities under the laws of the State to 

25 provide information about the beneficial owners (as 


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1 that term is defined in section 5333(d)(1) of title 

2 31, United States Code, as added by this Act) or 

3 beneficiaries of such entities, and the nature of the 

4 required information; 

5 (3) evaluating whether the lack of available 

6 beneficial ownership information for partnerships, 

7 trusts, or other legal entities— 

8 (A) raises concerns about the involvement 

9 of such entities in terrorism, money laundering, 

10 tax evasion, securities fraud, or other mis11 conduct; and 

12 (B) has impeded investigations into enti13 ties suspected of such misconduct; and 

14 (4) evaluating whether the failure of the United 

15 States to require beneficial ownership information 

16 for partnerships and trusts formed or registered in 

17 the United States has elicited international criticism 

18 and what steps, if any, the United States has taken 

19 or is planning to take in response. 

Æ 


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