To: William F. Galvin, Mass. Secretary of State and Maura Healy, Mass. Attorney General
Massachusetts: Fight the opioid crisis by going after the money
Massachusetts Fair Share
We should end the practice of anonymous shell companies -- this common tool for dodging taxes is also used by criminals like narco-traffickers to launder money, as well as to cover up all kinds of criminal activity.
Currently, law enforcement seizes $0.25 for every $100 of drug money flowing out of the country. It's just too easy to move the money. That makes these drugs, which are killing people in Massachusetts nearly every day, cheaper on the street and more profitable for the kingpins.
We must do everything in our power to stop the flow of cheap opioids that takes such a toll on the Commonwealth and our communities. Lend your public support to the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act, and take action to stop anonymous companies from being formed here in Massachusetts.
Currently, law enforcement seizes $0.25 for every $100 of drug money flowing out of the country. It's just too easy to move the money. That makes these drugs, which are killing people in Massachusetts nearly every day, cheaper on the street and more profitable for the kingpins.
We must do everything in our power to stop the flow of cheap opioids that takes such a toll on the Commonwealth and our communities. Lend your public support to the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act, and take action to stop anonymous companies from being formed here in Massachusetts.
Why is this important?
Most businesses have nothing to hide, but if you do have something to hide, it's easy: You just set up an anonymous shell company -- which in America, requires less personal information than it takes to get a library card.
Since you don't even have to report who owns the company, anonymous shell companies are a favorite tool to hide all sorts of unsavory behaviors, from terrorism and drug cartels to tax dodging.
“Shells are the No. 1 vehicle for laundering illicit money and criminal proceeds,” explained Lanny A. Breuer, former Asst. U.S. Attorney General to the New York Times. [1]
Much of the opioids that are trafficked in Massachusetts come from drug kingpins based in Mexico or Colombia. [2]
The biggest of Mexico’s drug gangs is the Los Zetas cartel. From 2008, the Zetas used anonymous companies, including from Oklahoma, in a scheme to launder millions of dollars of drug money into the United States, with the true ownership hidden behind front-men. The money was hidden behind the purchase of race horses, some of whom were given names such as ‘Number One Cartel’ and ‘Morning Cartel’. [3]
The Government Accountability Office estimates of the $39 billion in drug money leaves the country each year. Of every $100 that goes south, U.S. law enforcement officers intercept only 25 cents. [4]
The ease of money laundering makes it all that much easier to flood our streets with cheap drugs.
As Massachusetts communities deal with public health problem created by the rising opioid crisis, we can also help make it harder to launder money through shell companies. But given how money is hidden in shell companies, there is a lot of pressure to maintain the status quo. That's why we need people like you to speak out.
1. "How Delaware Thrives as A Corporate Tax Haven,” New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/business/how-delaware-thrives-as-a-corporate-tax-haven.html
2. “DEA details path of deadly heroin blend to N.E.” Boston Globe. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/28/fentanyl-laced-heroin-makes-journey-new-england-that-starts-colombia-and-mexico-dea-says/hVHvjvBE9cvV9lkKLVR3cN/story.html
3. “The Great Rip Off,” Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corruption-and-money-laundering/great-rip-off/
4. "Analysis: Losing the War on Drugs," Government Executive. http://www.govexec.com/management/2013/02/analysis-losing-war-drugs/61403/?oref=dropdown
Since you don't even have to report who owns the company, anonymous shell companies are a favorite tool to hide all sorts of unsavory behaviors, from terrorism and drug cartels to tax dodging.
“Shells are the No. 1 vehicle for laundering illicit money and criminal proceeds,” explained Lanny A. Breuer, former Asst. U.S. Attorney General to the New York Times. [1]
Much of the opioids that are trafficked in Massachusetts come from drug kingpins based in Mexico or Colombia. [2]
The biggest of Mexico’s drug gangs is the Los Zetas cartel. From 2008, the Zetas used anonymous companies, including from Oklahoma, in a scheme to launder millions of dollars of drug money into the United States, with the true ownership hidden behind front-men. The money was hidden behind the purchase of race horses, some of whom were given names such as ‘Number One Cartel’ and ‘Morning Cartel’. [3]
The Government Accountability Office estimates of the $39 billion in drug money leaves the country each year. Of every $100 that goes south, U.S. law enforcement officers intercept only 25 cents. [4]
The ease of money laundering makes it all that much easier to flood our streets with cheap drugs.
As Massachusetts communities deal with public health problem created by the rising opioid crisis, we can also help make it harder to launder money through shell companies. But given how money is hidden in shell companies, there is a lot of pressure to maintain the status quo. That's why we need people like you to speak out.
1. "How Delaware Thrives as A Corporate Tax Haven,” New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/business/how-delaware-thrives-as-a-corporate-tax-haven.html
2. “DEA details path of deadly heroin blend to N.E.” Boston Globe. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/28/fentanyl-laced-heroin-makes-journey-new-england-that-starts-colombia-and-mexico-dea-says/hVHvjvBE9cvV9lkKLVR3cN/story.html
3. “The Great Rip Off,” Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corruption-and-money-laundering/great-rip-off/
4. "Analysis: Losing the War on Drugs," Government Executive. http://www.govexec.com/management/2013/02/analysis-losing-war-drugs/61403/?oref=dropdown