Justice Department asks Supreme Court to reinstate anti-money laundering law

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

12/31/24 5:53 PM ET


The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to issue an emergency order reinstating a federal anti-money laundering law as a legal battle plays out in a lower court. Passed in 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) would require millions of business entities to disclose personal information about their owners by next month.

The law is on hold after a series of rulings that began when a federal district judge in Texas this month found the legislation likely exceeded Congress’s authority and blocked its enforcement. At the end of multiple whiplash decisions, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused the federal government’s request to reinstate the law as it appeals.

In an emergency application docketed Tuesday, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to revive the law as the government continues its appeal in the 5th Circuit, insisting the law is constitutional and that the lower court overreached. “Contrary to the district court’s decision, the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause empower Congress to adopt the CTA’s reporting requirements,” the Justice Department wrote.

The law would require millions of small business entities by next month to provide information about their owners, like their dates of birth and addresses, to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an arm of the Treasury Department aimed at combatting money laundering and other crimes. Violations can carry civil and criminal penalties.

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5061807-justice-department-asks-supreme-court-to-reinstate-anti-money-laundering-law/