Crack Down on Russian Oligarchs by Cracking Down on US Tax Havens
While other EU countries have been increasing transparency and cracking down on kleptocratic capital, the U.S. is a laggard.
As part of sanctions against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United States, United Kingdom, and other European Union nations are cracking down on Russian oligarchs, freezing assets and tracking the yachts, private jets, and luxury real estate holdings of oligarchs.
The U.S. faces a major obstacle in this effort, which is our country has become a major destination tax haven for criminal and oligarch wealth from around the world, not just Russians.
"I say to the Russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime: no more," Biden said in his State of the Union address. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."
Targeting Russia's elites, who have stolen trillions from their own people, is an important strategy to pressure Putin, who himself may be among the wealthiest people on the planet.
But the U.S. faces a major obstacle in this effort, which is our country has become a major destination tax haven for criminal and oligarch wealth from around the world, not just Russians. While other EU countries have been increasing transparency and cracking down on kleptocratic capital, the U.S. is a laggard. As the Pandora Papers disclosed, the U.S. has become a weak link in the fight against global corruption.
Delaware, the state President Biden represented in the U.S. Senate for 36 years, is the premiere venue for anonymous limited liability companies that don't have to disclose who the real beneficial owners are, even to law enforcement. And South Dakota is the home for billionaires creating dynasty trusts where they can park wealth outside the reach of tax authorities for generations. Even more, U.S. charities, as my IPS colleague Helen Flannery wrote last week, have received billions from Russian oligarchs, helping to sanitize their reputations.
Global wealth is flooding into the U.S., especially in luxury real estate. The New York Post did an expose, complete with maps, on the luxury real estate holdings of Russian oligarchs in the Big Apple. But other asset classes are being used to hold oligarchic wealth, including art, cryptocurrency, and jewelry.
This vast wealth-hiding apparatus would not exist with an enormous enabling class of lawyers, accountants, and wealth managers. This "wealth defense industry" are the agents of inequality, the facilitators of the wealth disappearing act. This class of professionals, including the American Bar Association, uses their considerable political clout to block reforms.
The first step in fixing the hidden wealth system is ownership transparency--requiring disclosure of beneficial ownership in real estate, trusts, and companies and corporations. Cities like Los Angeles are exploring municipal-level disclosure of real estate ownership so they can know who is buying the neighborhood.
But we should sign a spotlight on the enabling wealth defense industry. Days after the release of the Pandora Papers, U.S. lawmakers introduced the ENABLERS Act, to require such attorneys, wealth managers, real estate professionals and art dealers to report suspicious activity. The attention on Russian oligarchs has revived interest in this legislation.
If the U.S. wants to clamp down on Russian oligarchs, the first step is to get our own house in order.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
As part of sanctions against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United States, United Kingdom, and other European Union nations are cracking down on Russian oligarchs, freezing assets and tracking the yachts, private jets, and luxury real estate holdings of oligarchs.
The U.S. faces a major obstacle in this effort, which is our country has become a major destination tax haven for criminal and oligarch wealth from around the world, not just Russians.
"I say to the Russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime: no more," Biden said in his State of the Union address. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."
Targeting Russia's elites, who have stolen trillions from their own people, is an important strategy to pressure Putin, who himself may be among the wealthiest people on the planet.
But the U.S. faces a major obstacle in this effort, which is our country has become a major destination tax haven for criminal and oligarch wealth from around the world, not just Russians. While other EU countries have been increasing transparency and cracking down on kleptocratic capital, the U.S. is a laggard. As the Pandora Papers disclosed, the U.S. has become a weak link in the fight against global corruption.
Delaware, the state President Biden represented in the U.S. Senate for 36 years, is the premiere venue for anonymous limited liability companies that don't have to disclose who the real beneficial owners are, even to law enforcement. And South Dakota is the home for billionaires creating dynasty trusts where they can park wealth outside the reach of tax authorities for generations. Even more, U.S. charities, as my IPS colleague Helen Flannery wrote last week, have received billions from Russian oligarchs, helping to sanitize their reputations.
Global wealth is flooding into the U.S., especially in luxury real estate. The New York Post did an expose, complete with maps, on the luxury real estate holdings of Russian oligarchs in the Big Apple. But other asset classes are being used to hold oligarchic wealth, including art, cryptocurrency, and jewelry.
This vast wealth-hiding apparatus would not exist with an enormous enabling class of lawyers, accountants, and wealth managers. This "wealth defense industry" are the agents of inequality, the facilitators of the wealth disappearing act. This class of professionals, including the American Bar Association, uses their considerable political clout to block reforms.
The first step in fixing the hidden wealth system is ownership transparency--requiring disclosure of beneficial ownership in real estate, trusts, and companies and corporations. Cities like Los Angeles are exploring municipal-level disclosure of real estate ownership so they can know who is buying the neighborhood.
But we should sign a spotlight on the enabling wealth defense industry. Days after the release of the Pandora Papers, U.S. lawmakers introduced the ENABLERS Act, to require such attorneys, wealth managers, real estate professionals and art dealers to report suspicious activity. The attention on Russian oligarchs has revived interest in this legislation.
If the U.S. wants to clamp down on Russian oligarchs, the first step is to get our own house in order.
As part of sanctions against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United States, United Kingdom, and other European Union nations are cracking down on Russian oligarchs, freezing assets and tracking the yachts, private jets, and luxury real estate holdings of oligarchs.
The U.S. faces a major obstacle in this effort, which is our country has become a major destination tax haven for criminal and oligarch wealth from around the world, not just Russians.
"I say to the Russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime: no more," Biden said in his State of the Union address. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."
Targeting Russia's elites, who have stolen trillions from their own people, is an important strategy to pressure Putin, who himself may be among the wealthiest people on the planet.
But the U.S. faces a major obstacle in this effort, which is our country has become a major destination tax haven for criminal and oligarch wealth from around the world, not just Russians. While other EU countries have been increasing transparency and cracking down on kleptocratic capital, the U.S. is a laggard. As the Pandora Papers disclosed, the U.S. has become a weak link in the fight against global corruption.
Delaware, the state President Biden represented in the U.S. Senate for 36 years, is the premiere venue for anonymous limited liability companies that don't have to disclose who the real beneficial owners are, even to law enforcement. And South Dakota is the home for billionaires creating dynasty trusts where they can park wealth outside the reach of tax authorities for generations. Even more, U.S. charities, as my IPS colleague Helen Flannery wrote last week, have received billions from Russian oligarchs, helping to sanitize their reputations.
Global wealth is flooding into the U.S., especially in luxury real estate. The New York Post did an expose, complete with maps, on the luxury real estate holdings of Russian oligarchs in the Big Apple. But other asset classes are being used to hold oligarchic wealth, including art, cryptocurrency, and jewelry.
This vast wealth-hiding apparatus would not exist with an enormous enabling class of lawyers, accountants, and wealth managers. This "wealth defense industry" are the agents of inequality, the facilitators of the wealth disappearing act. This class of professionals, including the American Bar Association, uses their considerable political clout to block reforms.
The first step in fixing the hidden wealth system is ownership transparency--requiring disclosure of beneficial ownership in real estate, trusts, and companies and corporations. Cities like Los Angeles are exploring municipal-level disclosure of real estate ownership so they can know who is buying the neighborhood.
But we should sign a spotlight on the enabling wealth defense industry. Days after the release of the Pandora Papers, U.S. lawmakers introduced the ENABLERS Act, to require such attorneys, wealth managers, real estate professionals and art dealers to report suspicious activity. The attention on Russian oligarchs has revived interest in this legislation.
If the U.S. wants to clamp down on Russian oligarchs, the first step is to get our own house in order.