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While raucous protests and fiery press conferences tend to dominate the headlines after ICIJ publishes a major investigation like the Pandora Papers, the real action — the real change — takes months and sometimes years to fully develop. Enter the Enablers Act.
ICIJ’s reporting highlighted America’s growing role in global financial secrecy and the unregulated middlemen who move money for foreign clients under the radar. U.S. lawmakers quickly took heed and — days after the Pandora Papers launched — introduced legislation that would for the first time, require trust companies, lawyers, art dealers and others to vet their clients and sources of wealth.
That bill — heralded as the most significant proposal to reform America’s anti-money laundering laws in a generation — just got fast-tracked.
A bipartisan group of legislators voted to include the Enablers Act in a national defense bill that is traditionally passed by Congress every year, significantly increasing the likelihood it will become law, backers say. Readers may recall that a similar legislative maneuver was used to pave the way for the Corporate Transparency Act to finally pass in the U.S. in 2020. That landmark legislation increased transparency requirements for company owners, but did little to rein in service providers who often serve as an entry point into America’s financial system.
“It closes the biggest remaining loopholes in our laws that allow crooks and kleptocrats all over the world to hide their money and property in the United States,” says Rep. Tom Malinowski, a co-sponsor of the bill.
‘DELAWARE IS EVERYWHERE’
We talk to the author of a new book about Delaware’s history as a major corporate tax haven and the tiny U.S. state’s massive role in global financial secrecy.
EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL JOURNALISM
The Pandora Papers won the Best 2022 Public Service Award from the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.
CONNECTED DATA FELLOWSHIP
Are you, or someone you know, a developer interested in making sense of complex data and enhancing ICIJ’s toolbelt with graph database technologies? We’ve extended the deadline to apply for a eight-month Neo4j fellowship with ICIJ’s tech team. Applications close on July 10th.
We’re taking a break from the newsletter next week to observe the July 4th holiday in the U.S. But we promise we’ll be back in your inboxes very soon to share some exciting new stuff we’ve been working on. Stay tuned!
Asraa Mustufa
ICIJ's digital editor
P.S. If you've enjoyed our coverage this week, remember to tell your friends and family and share our work on social media. Send them an email now!
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