ENABLERS Act

Establishing New Authorities for Businesses Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security Act or the ENABLERS Act

This bill expands the definition of a financial institution for purposes of reporting suspicious transactions, anti-money laundering programs, and other related measures. Specifically, the bill expands this definition to include

• persons who provide investment advice for compensation;
• persons who trade in works of art, antiques, or collectibles;
• attorneys, law firms, or notaries involved in financial or related activity on behalf of another person;
• certain trusts and company service providers;
• certified public accountants and public accounting firms;
• persons engaged in the business of public relations, marketing, communications, or other similar services in such a manner as to provide another person anonymity or deniability; and
• persons engaged in the business of providing third-party payment services.

Additionally, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network must establish a task force to develop a strategy to impose anti-money laundering safeguards and enforce requirements on certain professions.

Finally, domestic title insurance companies must obtain, maintain, and report to the Department of the Treasury information on the beneficial owners of entities that purchase or sell residential or commercial real estate in transactions involving the domestic title insurance company.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov