The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) requires all corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and many other entities created or registered to do business in any U.S. state to file a beneficial ownership interest report (BOI Report) with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The BOI Report includes the ultimate beneficial owners of the entity
U.S. District Court Enjoins Enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act
On December 3, 2024, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”). The Court found that without an injunction, compliance with the CTA will “almost certainly” cause “substantial, incompensable monetary costs and constitutional harm” to the plaintiffs. The Court
FinCEN Clarifies that Dissolved Entities are Subject to CTA Reporting Obligations
On July 8, 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released additional FAQs[1] with respect to the beneficial ownership reporting requirements of dissolved entities. The Corporate Transparency Act requires reporting companies to report to FinCEN information about their beneficial owners and company applicants (a “BOI Report”) and is intended to help prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, tax fraud and other illicit activity. The Beneficial Ownership Reporting Rule (the “BOI Rule”), promulgated by FinCEN in September 2022, establishes the types of entities that are reporting companies and how beneficial owners and company applicants are determined, as well as what information is required to be reported about these entities and individuals.
U.S. District Court in Alabama Finds the Corporate Transparency Act Unconstitutional
On March 1, 2024, Judge Liles C. Burke of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) is unconstitutional[1], leaving its future uncertain. The CTA requires reporting companies to report to FinCEN information about their beneficial owners and company applicants and is intended to help prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, tax fraud and other illicit activity. The ruling enjoined U.S. Department of the Treasury, FinCEN and any other federal agency from enforcing the CTA against the plaintiffs but introduces uncertainty as to the applicability to other reporting companies.
CTA: FinCEN Clarifies Ownership Interests Must be Entirely Controlled or Wholly Owned to Qualify for the Subsidiary Exemption
On January 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released additional FAQs[1] in response to questions received regarding compliance with various aspects of the Corporate Transparency Act’s Beneficial Ownership Reporting Rule (the “BOI Rule”), which came into effect on January 1, 2024.[2] One such question
CTA – Accessing Beneficial Ownership Information
On December 21, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued the final rule on Beneficial Ownership Information Access and Safeguards (the “Access Rule”) laying out the protocols for access to the beneficial ownership database by law enforcement and by eligible financial institutions. The Corporate Transparency Act requires reporting companies
SEC Adopts Treasury Clearing Rules
On December 13, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted new rules that will have the effect of requiring central clearing of a broad range of cash transactions and repurchase transactions in U.S. treasury securities (“U.S. Treasuries”).[1] The new rules will require covered clearing agencies (“CCAs”)[2] to adopt policies and procedures requiring
CTA – The Large Operating Company Exemption – Not Everybody Can Be A “Big BOI”
In 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) was enacted into U.S. federal law as part of a multi‑national effort to rein in the use of entities to mask illegal activity. The CTA directs the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) to propose rules requiring certain types of entities to file
SEC Sued Over New Short Sales and Securities Lending Disclosure Rules: Second Lawsuit Filed This Year in 5th Circuit Challenging SEC Action
The SEC has been sued again in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, on the heels of that Court’s recent invalidation of the SEC’s newly-minted corporate buy-back rules. The new legal action asks the Court to invalidate the newly-adopted short sales and securities lending disclosure rules (see our client alert here on the
SEC Adopts New Rule Prohibiting Conflicts of Interest in Certain Securitizations
Following the financial crisis of 2007-2009 and Congressional investigations into the securitization market, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 prohibited securitization participants from engaging in any transaction that would result in a material conflict of interest with investors in the securitization. On November 27, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission