WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) – ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs – released the following statement after the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included Brown’s historic comprehensive anti-money laundering and corporate transparency reforms, passed the United States Senate and was cleared for Presidential action:
“These anti-money laundering and corporate transparency reforms were long overdue. The Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Corporate Transparency Act, which passed the Senate today and are on the way to the President, provide new tools to crack down on anonymous shell companies and on big banks that enable criminals or have lax anti-money laundering compliance programs. We know that criminals have long been adjusting their tactics to get around our laws. This bill will enable us to get ahead of them, and stay ahead of them.”
Brown added, “I hope my Republican colleagues who voted for this bill stand up to President Trump’s threatened veto and vote to override it if necessary so that our federal, state and local officials will finally have the modern tools they need to protect our communities and bring these criminals to justice.”
This bill is a product of years of bipartisan negotiations and will help protect our communities from money laundering, drug, and human trafficking, fraud, and other illicit finance crimes. It requires expanded reporting to Congress on banks that abuse prosecution agreements with DOJ, provides for greater information exchange with law enforcement so that responsible banks can better track and report suspicious activity, and bolsters penalties on bankers who violate the law. Brown helped secure these provisions in the House-Senate NDAA conference report.
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