ENABLERS Act Included in NDAA
Washington, D.C.– Co-led by Representatives Joe Wilson (R-SC), senior member of the Armed Services Committee, Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), and Richard Hudson (R-NC), the Members applauded the inclusion of their ENABLERS Act (Establishing New Authorities for Business Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security Act) in the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The ENABLERS Act will be the most significant updating of U.S. anti-money laundering legislation since the PATRIOT Act. The amendment was sponsored by Wilson for inclusion into the NDAA and voted on by the House Armed Services Committee this week.
The ENABLERS Act will close loopholes that crooks and kleptocrats from around the world use to launder money in the United States. As highlighted in the Pandora Papers and reports on Putin's cronies, dictators, criminals, and terrorists continue to make the United States a destination of choice for hiding dirty money. Because our laws require banks to report suspicious transactions, corrupt actors increasingly rely on other financial advisors, or "enablers," not obligated to conduct such due diligence, including trust companies, law and accounting firms, to help them shelter their assets and disguise the true owners of those assets.
The ENABLERS Act would impose stronger due diligence requirements on these U.S.-based middlemen. It will help ensure that the United States is no longer a safe haven for dirty money, and strengthen enforcement of sanctions against adversaries who might otherwise be able to hide their assets from the United States and its allies. It will also protect Americans from inflated real estate prices and corrupt influence peddling that comes with the wealth kleptocrats shelter within our borders.
More on the ENABLERS Act here.
"The inclusion of this bipartisan anti-corruption legislation in this year's National Defense Authorization Act means we are one step closer to fortifying our democracy against exploitation by dictators and kleptocrats. The ENABLERS Act is a common sense, due diligence requirement that will save taxpayers money, and I am grateful to have led its inclusion in the NDAA," said Representative Wilson.
"It's hard to sanction adversaries like Russia when our weak money laundering laws enable the targets of those sanctions to hide their assets right under our noses," said Representative Malinowski. "We've just taken a huge step towards closing the loopholes that enable crooks and kleptocrats to use American law and accounting firms and trust companies to shelter their ill-gotten wealth, and I'm increasingly optimistic we can get this legislation passed this year."
"For too long, corrupt dictators and their cronies from abroad have been able to stash their blood money in the United States but now that our Enablers Act has been included in this year's National Defense Authorization Act, we will close key loopholes allowing corrupt actors to avoid detection. Doing business in the United States is a privilege, not a right," said Representative Salazar
"Corruption undermines democracy. All around the world, countries are being looted and the most vulnerable people are being victimized by kleptocrats. They then launder this stolen money to the West where they enjoy the high life – spending the money on high-end real estate, luxury cars, private planes and extravagant parties. Some also use these ill-gotten gains to intervene in our political system, undermining democracy and up-ending the rule of law. To fight corruption, we must address the enablers and stop the flow of dirty money. The ENABLERS Act is an important step in stemming this corruption," said Representative Cohen.
"As someone who previously worked money laundering cases and tracked transnational criminal organizations, I understand the need to stop oligarchs, global kleptocrats, and adversarial regimes from using American professionals to launder illicit funds through offshore shell companies," said Representative Spanberger. "Congress must do more to crack down on worldwide criminals using U.S. businesses to create safe havens for dirty money. This legislation takes a strong step towards blocking "enablers" of corruption, and I am proud to be an original cosponsor."
"As corrupt regimes worldwide seek to undermine the rule of law, the ENABLERS Act is a step in the right direction in order to hold enablers of foreign corruption accountable. I am proud to see this bipartisan bill advance in the NDAA," said Representative Hudson.