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In
June, President Joe Biden ordered officials to craft policies to
thwart illegal activities. Their initial proposals are outlined
in a 38-page U.S. national security strategy on countering
corruption released on Monday.
The U.S. Treasury Department said it is working on a new rule to
better identify who is behind all-cash real estate transactions
and to see if those purchases are being used to shelter illegal
profits.
"The ability of illicit actors to launder criminal proceeds
through the purchase of real estate," Treasury said, "threatens
U.S. national security and the integrity of the U.S. financial
system."
The agency may also require that more investment funds, such as
hedge funds and private equity vehicles, engage in anti-money
laundering efforts. And they expect to announce as soon as this
week new efforts toward creating a database identifying the
owners behind shell companies used to move money anonymously.
The moves come after a series of leaked documents, including
October's release of the Pandora Papers, raised questions about
ways in which government officials and others discreetly move
money abroad, potentially to dodge taxes or accountability for
wrongdoing.
Biden is hosting a virtual summit on Thursday and Friday with
110 participants as part of an effort to confront what his
administration sees as authoritarian forces led by China and
Russia.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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