FinCEN Intends to Utilize Digital Streaming Platforms to Spread Beneficial Ownership Reporting Measures

International law enforcement FinCEN is all set to deploy online streaming platform campaigns to spread awareness for financial institutes to guide them about beneficial ownership reporting requirements. 

FinCEN plans vast educational videos to teach companies and businesses about the new amendments in the beneficial ownership reporting measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. They designed a campaign to broadcast the videos on YouTube and other digital streaming platforms. FinCEN will also arrange meetings with small businesses, host webinars, and confront other legal entities about their upcoming rigid regulations to report information about companies’ real owners. 

During the recent press conference, the FinCEN director stated, “In short, we are going to hit all forms of media to educate about beneficial ownership information reporting. Not only will we be leveraging the web and a YouTube series but also leveraging every other type of outreach through our website [and] through a partnership with different public affairs outfits, we are definitely trying to get the message out.”

Referencing a new FinCEN publication to clarify the obligations for reporting Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI), the director added, “Gone on the road, so far, to engage with small businesses in different congressional districts. You can expect we will continue that and partner with stakeholder organizations, especially at the Secretary of State level.” The head of the global sanctions and risk in the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) appreciated FinCEN for using digital platforms and said that small businesses would be excited to watch FinCEN take charge of spreading the latest regulation in business verification. He stated, “I think that’s going to be a relief to a lot of people in this room because I think the feeling, the worry, was that financial institutions would be the ones having to communicate that.” 

Many businesses established in the United States or registered to conduct business there must report FinCEN documentation about their shareholders or the people who ultimately own or control the corporation. This latest UBO verification rule will be implemented at the beginning of 2024. Parliament has criticized FinCEN because of this, stating that there hasn’t been enough public education about the new rule. To consider these allegations, Gacki stated, “Even if verification is not part of the rulemaking and people have not been shy about letting us know their views about verification, I just want to assure you that we’re taking all that in. As we pull together this database, I think there is something we have to work through. We feel very strongly that a way to test the validity of the information is a very important part of our job.” 

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