Yellen says 100,000 firms have joined a business database aimed at unmasking shell company owners

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is announcing that 100,000 businesses have signed up for a new database that collects ownership information on firms intended to help unmask shell company owners. Yellen says the database will send the message that “the United States is not a haven for dirty money.” She also says Treasury is considering boosting rules related to commercial real estate transactions. Treasury says illicit actors laundered at least $2.3 billion through U.S. real estate between 2015 and 2020. Yellen on Monday (Jan. 8, 2024) is visiting Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in Virginia to discuss the initiative.