Reported by Amy Howe

The Biden administration came to the Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon, asking the justices to let it enforce an anti-money-laundering law while the government appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and, if necessary, the Supreme Court. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the justices that an order by a federal judge barring the government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act “impedes efforts to prevent financial crime and protect national security” and “undermines the United States’ ability to press other countries to improve their own anti-money laundering regimes.”

More broadly, Prelogar suggested that the justices could weigh in on the propriety of so-called “universal injunctions” – orders barring the government from enforcing the law anywhere in the country. Some of the court’s conservative justices – Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh – have indicated in the past that the Supreme Court should address whether such injunctions are proper.

Universal injunctions have been used (as in this case) to block laws and policies during both the Biden and Trump administrations.

The case is a challenge to the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act, a 2021 law intended to prevent crimes like money laundering and the financing of terrorism by requiring businesses to report information about their owners. A rule issued by the Department of the Treasury originally required companies created before 2024 to submit initial reports by Jan. 1, 2025.

Read full report: https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/01/biden-asks-justices-to-allow-enforcement-of-anti-money-laundering-law/