U.S. House Republicans are threatening to block all funding for the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) until the agency finalizes a rule requiring companies to report beneficial ownership information, according to a new report by Dow Jones Risk Journal. 

A proposed fiscal 2027 budget bill approved Friday by a House appropriations subcommittee would withhold FinCEN’s budget of more than $185 million until the agency publishes a final rule under terms set by the Trump administration, the news outlet said. The interim rule, which was amended by the White House in early 2025, would require foreign companies to disclose identifying information on their owners to support law-enforcement and regulatory investigations. 

Shortly after President Trump’s inauguration in 2025, the White House moved to scale back the original scope of the planned rule, which would have required similar disclosures by U.S.-based companies, including limited liability companies and other legal entities exploited by criminals to obscure ownership. The reporting framework stems from the Corporate Transparency Act, enacted in the closing days of Trump’s first term as part of a broader defense spending bill.

Under the House subcommittee’s proposal, FinCEN’s funding would remain frozen until the Trump administration’s version of the rule is formally adopted, according to Risk Journal. The news outlet reached out to Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), who chairs the subcommittee, and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) for comment, though neither responded by time of publication. 

If acted upon, the threat to withhold FinCEN’s annual budget could impede the federal government’s ability to issue illicit-finance alerts, police businesses for anti-money-laundering (AML) compliance, and share financial intelligence with criminal investigators, both within the United States and abroad. 

The Trump administration’s move to narrow the beneficial-ownership rule has drawn criticism from law enforcement groups, which say a nationwide database containing U.S. corporate ownership information would help uncover shell companies used for drug trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes, Risk Journal said. 

The rollback also distances the United States from standards promoted by the Financial Action Task Force, which has previously faulted the U.S. AML regime for failing to identify the individuals who own and control corporate entities.

Read more at Dow Jones Risk Journal