Financial Action Task Force Highlights Treasury’s Efforts to Counter Illicit Finance

WASHINGTON — Today, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—the global standard-setting body for anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, and countering proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF)—announced that the United States has been upgraded to “largely compliant” with FATF Recommendation 24, which relates to beneficial ownership transparency for legal persons.

The FATF published the updated rating in the Seventh Enhanced Follow-Up Report of the United States, recognizing Treasury’s historic efforts to increase beneficial ownership transparency and address key vulnerabilities in the U.S. AML/CFT framework. 

“The United States’ upgraded rating is a result of nearly a decade of hard work by the Treasury Department, along with our interagency partners, to stop the flow of dirty money through anonymous companies,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen said. “As the world’s largest economy, we have a unique responsibility to safeguard our financial system from criminal exploitation. We’re fully committed to strengthening the implementation of the FATF’s global standards as we work to advance transparency and fairness across the U.S. financial system.”

The Report details the United States’ progress in addressing deficiencies in its AML/CFT regime specific to Recommendation 24, including the ongoing implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act, the bipartisan law that requires many companies doing business in the United States to report information to Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) about who ultimately owns or controls them. This historic effort, among other Treasury initiatives, aims to prevent the misuse of anonymous companies and other corporate structures by criminal, corrupt, and illicit actors.

Treasury has made significant progress in implementing the Corporate Transparency Act and is engaged in a robust outreach and education campaign to educate small businesses about the reporting requirements. Reporting companies that existed before 2024 have until January 1, 2025, to report their beneficial ownership information to FinCEN. Reporting companies created or registered to do business in the United States in 2024 have 90 calendar days to file after receiving actual or public notice that their company’s creation or registration is effective. Learn more at fincen.gov/boi.

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