US Treasury Department says it will not enforce anti-money laundering law
US Treasury Department says it will not enforce anti-money laundering law
The U.S. Treasury Department said on Sunday it would not enforce an anti-money laundering law that obliges millions of business entities to disclose the identities of their real beneficial owners.
Remarkable timing there... I'm sure it's purely a coincidence that this new EO slipped in right before Trump announced his strategic cryptocurrency reserve today after ripping off his supporters to the tune of $12 billion with his pump & dump Trump coin.
"Treasury takes this step in the interest of supporting hard-working American taxpayers and small businesses.."
1984 has come and gone, and America is now officially for sale.
Why does this stuff always happen when I don't have any money to launder!?
No, it's not about Crypto, at least not primarily. Its about all those Russian Oligarchs that Trump is friends with. This means that they can pour their ill-gotten gains into US Real Estate and other assets over the next four years. Yes, some of their illiquid assets are in crypto, and the Strategic Shitcoin Reserve will no doubt buy some of that and exchange it for Dollars.
But the real goal is to buy huge swaths of American assets with shady money. Those Russian oligarchs might never get to the point where their sheer wealth makes them be part of a cabal that runs the country -- We're too big for that. But it gives them a place to land if the Russian government goes South, and as long as Republicams are in charge we know our government can be bought. All they need to do is throw a few hundred million of Free Speech dollars into campaigns to retain what influence they have.
And let's not forget they can now spend $5 million of that on a "golden visa" to become legal US residents on the path to citizenship.
Yep, crypto is just the vehicle for the laundering in the short term. However, once he starts putting US Reserves and assets into this crypto-backed fund, it becomes amazingly easy for the same oligarchs to pull the same rug pull that Donnie just did to MAGA - except it will be with our tax dollars, and it will be damn near untraceable depending on which crypto they're using (Monero, anyone?)
I agree with your wider analysis, but I think it goes further than just seizing assets and creating a soft landing point for Russian oligarchs. That was last decade. I think this is far worse.
Looking at a long term economic outlook, it appears to be an inside attack on our monetary system to try and displace the US as a reserve currency. The dollar is strong because it hasn't had a real rug pull since 1929. Trump's already speedrunning Hoover's presidency, and that plays right into Russian, Chinese, and Saudi hands.
See that's where America's real power lies - not in its military, or its resources. It lies in the dollar, because it's a symbol of stability and trust. Break that trust, and there's an opportunity to gain control of how the world does business. If the dollar collapses, America's power collapses.
And right now, there's a whole lot of people rooting for America to collapse. Trump even campaigned on it.
I think this is the long gamble by China and their soft support of Russia. If the dollar goes, that gives the RMB an enormous opening to become the reserve currency of choice. Because in times of transition, money flows towards stability, and China is looking rock solid in comparison to the EU and US.
For us little folks in the short term, be ready for big inflationary swings. Might be a good time to start buying gold.
EDIT - This popped up on my feed immediately after posting this comment - kinda hilarious in a "holy shit we're all going to hell so might as well enjoy the fireworks" kinda way:
SEC Drops charges against Chinese billionaire after he pumps $30 million into Trump's crypto scheme.
There it is folks, pay for play. We're so fucking fucked.
I mean, not that I'm OK with any of this. But Trump said he's not willing to commit to defending Taiwan a few days ago. If Taiwan is on the table, god knows how much money China will be willing to shower on to him and USA. His insane plan might work for a few years while he's in office. He's willing to sell what no one else ever was and damn the longterm consequences.
But as an American, he might just be stealing the money to keep America afloat for his term, so I guess that's nice?
What's going to change in 4 years?
Cool cool cool.
So:
- step 1: create an LLC
- step 2: commit crimes
- step 3: launder money through LLC
The only people that this lack of enforcement will benefit are literal criminals who wish to make their dirty money legitimate.
I think typically step 2 comes before step 1.
Typically, yes. But court precedent has shown that corporations can commit crimes and all they'd need to do is pay a fine.
Good to know.
America is fucking gross.