On March 2nd, the U.S. Treasury Department made a startling announcement: the immediate suspension of the Corporate Transparency Act, which had been in effect since January 1st, 2024. This follows Russel Vought’s announcement that abolished the US version of the FOS, reported here. This unexpected move marks a critical moment in anti-money laundering (AML) regulation in the US, and is notable in the UK as we have mirror legislation surrounding disclosures on companies house that came into effect in 2023.
The suspended legislation previously required business owners to disclose detailed corporate reports, including ultimate business ownership information. The Trump administration frames this as a deregulation effort aimed at reducing bureaucratic burden for American businesses.
While the administration positions this as “cutting red tape,” the implications are profound and include
- Reduced transparency
- Increased potential for financial opacity
- Potential challenges in tracking complex ownership structures
Historically, the United States has been a leader in AML efforts, leveraging modern regulatory technology (regtech) to balance transparency with operational efficiency. From BAT’s Perspective – Innovation Never Stops but for compliance professionals, this development raises critical questions. Does deregulation signal a retreat from robust compliance practices? Of course we cannot know. We are order takers, not givers, but the BAT perspective is straight: innovation is the key.
Technology is the Compliance Equalizer. BAT’s approach demonstrates how technology can transform compliance challenges, and we use already on the system
- Real-time PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) sanction checking
- Biometric ID verification integrated directly into CRM systems
- AI-powered file checking
The Future of Compliance is simple. While regulatory landscapes may shift, the core mission for regulators remains unchanged: protecting customers from getting ripped off. How industry proves this to regulators is the clever bit that BAT solves. Going forwards IFAs will see our AI agents seamlessly integrate into your existing CRM, (as well as into BAT) providing:
- Automated file checking
- Intelligent scoring and
- Comprehensive risk assessment
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