On April 5, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in the Federal Register seeking public comment on 48 questions with respect to the implementation of the beneficial ownership reporting requirements in the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and the implementation of the related database maintenance use and disclosure provisions.  The deadline for comment is May 5, 2021.

As we previously reported, the CTA was enacted on January 1, 2021 as part of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and under the scope of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism and related crimes, including by discouraging the use of shell companies by money launderers and other illicit actors.  The CTA imposes requirements on reporting companies—corporations, LLCs and other similar entities—to submit personal identifying information about their beneficial owners and applicants.  FinCEN must promulgate rules implementing the reporting requirements by January 1, 2022.

FinCEN seeks input on the procedures by which companies will report beneficial ownership information and on FinCEN’s maintenance and disclosure of reported information.  The 48 questions posed by FinCEN fall into the following five categories: 1) definitions, 2) reporting of beneficial ownership information, 3) FinCEN identifier, 4) security and use of beneficial ownership and applicant information,” and 5) cost, process, outreach and partnership.

For more on the key areas of inquiry, please click here.