SEC Schedules Vote on Controversial Extractive Industry Rule
The latest version of the rule seeks to reduce the compliance burden on oil, gas and mining companies, but has drawn opposition from anticorruption advocates
The SEC is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a rule requiring the disclosure of payments made by oil, gas and mining companies to foreign governments. Photo: delil souleiman/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images By Dec. 14, 2020 5:30 am ET
The U.S. Securities and Commission is scheduled to vote this week on a rule mandating the disclosure of payments made by oil, gas and mining companies to foreign governments.
A vote on the rule, scheduled for Wednesday, could bring to close another chapter in a decadelong attempt to enact a controversial provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was designed to help stave off corruption by companies in resource extraction industries.
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Many companies aren’t currently under any federal obligation to identify the true beneficiary of their operations. And many states’ rules enable owners to obscure their identities through shell companies or through agents who register companies on their behalf.
Proponents of more transparency have long said stronger beneficial-ownership disclosure rules will prevent terror groups, drug cartels and arms dealers from using shell companies to move money to support their operations. But some business advocacy groups have opposed the rules, saying they are too burdensome for small, legitimate companies.
What happens next?
The bill now awaits President Trump’s signature. Mr. Trump has said he would veto the bill over language that was unrelated to the anti-money-laundering rules.
Treasury Provides More Clarity on How Banks Can Share Information on Suspicious Transactions
Guidance attempts to clarify limits on information-sharing partnerships established under the 2001 Patriot Act
Kenneth Blanco, the director of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, said the new guidance should encourage information sharing between banks on suspicious transactions. Photo: Alan Diaz/Associated Press By Updated Dec. 10, 2020 6:40 pm ET
The U.S.’s anti-money-laundering watchdog released new guidance Thursday on how financial institutions can share personally identifiable information about their customers if they believe it is tied to a suspicious transaction.
The guidance is meant to help clarify the limits to what officials have called a key tool in identifying potential instances of money laundering and terrorist financing, said Kenneth Blanco, the director of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Netw