State Department, FinCEN to discuss new federal transparency requirements
Every entity registered with the State Department must submit information on beneficial owners of companies operating in the United States.
The State Department, together with the Federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, will host a presentation on May 22 about new federal regulatory requirements for providing information on beneficiaries of business owners, Puerto Rico Secretary of State Omar J. Marrero announced.
“In 2021, the United States Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act to safeguard the financial system from illicit use,” Marrero explained. “This law requires companies operating in the United States to report information about the beneficial owners and/or any other person who exercises substantial control over the affairs and decisions of the entity.”
“It’s extremely important that every corporation or limited liability company, or LLC, submit their initial report directly to FinCEN,” Marrero said. “An important aspect of this law is that the principal officers of the entity in question would also be responsible for non-compliance under the law. That’s why we reiterate our call for any entity that qualifies to send the form as soon as possible and to attend this presentation to clarify any doubts.”
The presentation, which will take place at the State Department Theater in Old San Juan, will feature Jimmy Kirby, deputy director of FinCEN, who will explain details about the Corporate Transparency Act, also known as CTA, as well as the reports required by said law.
The CTA, with the objective of combating money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, tax fraud and other illicit activities, created a rule to submit information about the beneficial owner (Beneficial Ownership Information, or BOI), in which reporting companies must disclose certain information about the entity as well as personally identifiable information about its beneficial owners, Kirby explained.
The rule establishes that reporting companies must submit a BOI Initial Report whose expiration date depends on the date of creation or registration of the company in question, Marrero added.
“Reporting companies created or registered to do business before January 1, 2024, will have until January 1, 2025, to submit their Initial BOI Report,” Marrero said.
Meanwhile, companies created or registered during 2024 will have up to 90 calendar days to submit their BOI report, starting from the company’s establishment date. Finally, companies created or registered to do business on or after Jan. 1, 2025, will have up to 30 calendar days to submit their report.
