US proposes crackdown on financial ‘enablers’ in wake of Pandora papers

Legislation would force trust companies, lawyers and middlemen to investigate wealthy clients seeking to move money into US

US lawmakers are proposing legislation that would force trust companies, lawyers and other financial middlemen to investigate foreign clients seeking to move money and assets into the American financial system.

The bipartisan bill was proposed in the wake of the Pandora papers, a leak of 11.9m files from 14 different offshore services providers around the world that revealed how the global elite use tax havens to legally avoid paying billions in taxes, and how they are increasingly taking advantage of the US's liberal trust laws.