Entities

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) (3)

Topics and Issues

Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) (2)

Government database (4)

In December 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking

promulgating proposed regulations regarding access by authorized recipients to beneficial ownership information (BOI) that will be reported to FinCEN pursuant to Section 6403 of the [Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)], enacted into law as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AML Act), which is itself part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA). The proposed regulations would implement the strict protocols on security and confidentiality required by the CTA to protect sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) reported to FinCEN. The NPRM explains the circumstances in which specified recipients would have access to BOI and outlines data protection protocols and oversight mechanisms applicable to each recipient category. The disclosure of BOI to authorized recipients in accordance with appropriate protocols and oversight will help law enforcement and national security agencies prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, tax fraud, and other illicit activity, as well as protect national security. FinCEN is also proposing regulations to specify when and how reporting companies can use FinCEN identifiers to report the BOI of entities.

FinCEN also issued a press release and a fact sheet on this NPRM. The comment deadline is Feb. 14, 2023.