Under the new rules, companies will be required to provide “beneficial ownership” information to the treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit. Anonymous companies, which can be used to hide funds illicitly obtained by criminals and corrupt foreign officials, would be effectively banned... “Simply put, corporate transparency means it will be harder for corrupt leaders and other criminals to hide and move stolen money through secretly-owned corporations"... [said] Gary Kalman [Transparency International's] US director.

... Corporate secrecy rules have previously made it possible for anyone to create an anonymous shell company, in which they could hide enormous sums of money without being identifiable. Corrupt foreign leaders, cartel bosses, and criminals have all made use of lax US laws to hide their ill-gotten gains.

... The new Corporate Transparency Act, passed with bipartisan support, requires anyone forming a company in the US to provide their name, date of birth, unique identification number and other information. That information can be shared with law enforcement —including those acting on behalf of a foreign law enforcement agency — as well as for national security and intelligence purposes. The act also makes “deliberate false statements or willful evasion of its requirements” a federal crime, punishable by up to three years in jail... Larger companies that employ more than 20 people, have revenues above $5 million and a physical presence in the US, are exempt from the act.