21 Attorneys General Sue Trump Administration: California AG Bonta Challenges FinCEN Rule Scrapping Corporate Ownership Reporting
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Oct. 27 joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon challenging a rule by the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) under the Corporate Transparency Act, his office announced in Oakland. The suit alleges the rule exceeds statutory authority, is contrary to law, and is arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution.
According to the California Attorney General's Office, FinCEN's new rule permanently removes Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements for U.S. companies and U.S. persons. The Corporate Transparency Act requires companies to report beneficial owners' names, addresses, birth dates and identification records to FinCEN so law enforcement can stop shell companies from hiding financial transactions linked to money laundering and drug trafficking. The new rule also exempts foreign companies from reporting U.S. beneficial owners, and FinCEN has committed to deleting information previously reported by U.S. companies and individuals.
Follow-up: According to the complaint details released by the attorneys general of Oregon, Colorado and other states, the case is captioned State of Oregon v. Bessent, is led by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and was filed in the U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon. The complaint notes that FinCEN's rule, issued in August 2026, exempted about 99.9 percent of businesses from the reporting requirement, and that FinCEN later announced plans to delete existing beneficial ownership records that could contain evidence of unsolved crimes. The coalition asks the court to declare the rule unlawful and vacate it, and to require FinCEN to keep collecting and maintaining the ownership records for law enforcement investigations.
Bonta said the Trump Administration is unlawfully rolling back reporting requirements meant to help law enforcement track down bad actors who hide assets in shell companies, noting that Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act with bipartisan support. His office said California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation would have had access to FinCEN's BOI data for investigative and regulatory purposes, and that the rule will also deprive states of a tool for enforcing state tax laws. Joining the suit are the attorneys general of Oregon, Illinois, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin — 21 attorneys general in total including California. (Source: California Attorney General's Office)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加州检察长 Rob Bonta 官方肖像。公共领域（PD），来源：加州检察长办公室／Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Official portrait of California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Public domain, California Attorney General's office via Wikimedia Commons
