The U.S. Treasury Department is close to issuing a final rule that would require banks, brokers and mutual funds to identify the owners hidden behind shell companies, a Treasury official said.
The use of shell companies to conceal assets drew renewed attention this week after a group of news organizations used a leak of millions of documents from a Panama law firm to report on how some of the world’s wealthiest people, including politicians and business figures, had channeled billions of dollars into offshore accounts.
