IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 206 
Acknowledging that the lack of sunlight and transparency in financial trans-
actions and corporate formation poses a threat to our national security 
and our economy’s security and supporting efforts to close related loop-
holes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 8, 2019 
Ms. WATERS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
RESOLUTION 
Acknowledging that the lack of sunlight and transparency 
in financial transactions and corporate formation poses 
a threat to our national security and our economy’s 
security and supporting efforts to close related loopholes. 
Whereas money laundering and other financial crimes are se-
rious threats to our national and economic security; 
Whereas the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has 
reported ‘‘The estimated amount of money laundered 
globally in one year is 2–5% of global GDP, or $800 bil-
lion–$2 trillion in current US dollars’’; 
Whereas the scale, efficiency, and complexity of the U.S. fi-
nancial system make it a prime target for those who seek 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:40 Mar 08, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR206.IH
HR206
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 206 IH 
to conceal, launder, and move the proceeds of illicit activ-
ity; 
Whereas money launderers, terrorist financiers, corrupt indi-
viduals and organizations, and their facilitators have 
proven to adapt quickly in order to avoid detection; 
Whereas given the global nature of money laundering and 
terrorist financing, and the increasing interrelatedness 
within the financial system, a secure national and multi-
lateral framework is essential to the integrity of the U.S. 
financial system; 
Whereas extensive collaboration among financial regulators, 
the Department of the Treasury, law enforcement, and 
the private sector is required to curtail the illicit flow of 
money throughout the United States; 
Whereas despite how extensive and effective these efforts are 
in the United States, there is still substantial room for 
improvement; 
Whereas financial compliance, reporting, investigation, and 
collaboration, as well as courageous whistleblowers and 
investigative reporting (such as the Panama Papers) have 
had significant impact in shining sunlight on the people 
and institutions behind dark money and markets; 
Whereas in 2016, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), 
the international standards setting body, evaluated the 
United States anti-money-laundering/combating the fi-
nancing of terrorism measures and determined the 
United States has significant gaps in its framework; 
Whereas in 2016, the FATF found that in the United States, 
‘‘Minimal measures are imposed on designated non-finan-
cial businesses and professions (DNFBPs), other than 
casinos and dealers in precious metals and stones’’; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:40 Mar 08, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR206.IH
HR206
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 206 IH 
Whereas in 2016, the FATF recommended, ‘‘The U.S. should 
conduct a vulnerability analysis of the minimally covered 
DNFBP sectors to address the higher risks to which 
these sectors are exposed, and consider what measures 
could be introduced to address them’’; 
Whereas dealers in arts and antiquities are not, by definition, 
covered ‘‘financial institutions’’ required to comply with 
the Bank Secrecy Act; 
Whereas Federal authorities have cautioned that art collec-
tors and dealers to be particularly careful trading Near 
Eastern antiquities, warning that artifacts plundered by 
terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State of Iraq 
and the Levant are entering the marketplace; 
Whereas, according to the Antiquities Coalition, ‘‘because the 
United States is the largest destination for archaeological 
and ethnological objects from around the world, the dis-
covery of recently looted and trafficked artifacts in our 
country not only makes Americans and our institutions 
accessories to crimes, but also threatens our relations 
with other countries’’; 
Whereas the real estate industry, both commercial and resi-
dential, is exempt from having to develop and implement 
a four-pillar anti-money-laundering program pursuant to 
the Bank Secrecy Act; 
Whereas it was asserted in a 2018 Conference Report by the 
Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center 
at the Schar School of Policy and Government of George 
Mason University, money laundering in real estate 
(MLRE) has damaging effects on local economies by neg-
atively impacting property prices and dislocating resi-
dents; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:40 Mar 08, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR206.IH
HR206
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 206 IH 
Whereas in 2017, in response to evidence about significant 
money laundering through real estate in the United 
States, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 
(FinCEN) issued Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) 
requiring limited beneficial ownership disclosure in cer-
tain transactions involving high-end luxury real estate 
and ‘‘found that about 30 percent of the transactions 
covered by the GTOs involve a beneficial owner or pur-
chaser representative that is also the subject of a pre-
vious suspicious activity report’’; 
Whereas the influx of illicit money, including from Russian 
oligarchs, has flowed largely unimpeded into the United 
States through these anonymous shell companies and into 
U.S. investments, including luxury high-end real estate; 
Whereas in a Conference Report by the Terrorism, Transna-
tional Crime and Corruption Center at the Schar School 
of Policy and Government of George Mason University, 
stated ‘‘The lack of beneficial ownership transparency is 
the most important single factor facilitating MLRE in 
the U.S.’’; 
Whereas the lack of beneficial ownership disclosure has been 
found in several reports, such as those by the FACT Coa-
lition and Polaris, to facilitate human trafficking, corrup-
tion, terrorism, sanctions evasions, and numerous other 
financial crimes; 
Whereas the establishment of national-level beneficial owner-
ship registers has been adopted by other developed na-
tions, including those of the European Union; 
Whereas in 2016, the FATF found that ‘‘Lack of timely ac-
cess to adequate, accurate and current beneficial owner-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:40 Mar 08, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR206.IH
HR206
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS