NBAA and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) are encouraging the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to coordinate with the FAA and protect business aircraft owner privacy when implementing new reporting rules surrounding limited liability corporations (LLCs) and other entities such as trusts.

At the directive of Congress, the FinCEN released an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in early April outlining procedures and standards surrounding reporting of beneficial owner information. The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act included a measure, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), that increased the powers of FinCEN to collect and analyze financial transaction information to combat money laundering and other financial crimes, NBAA noted.

In comments to the ANPRM, the associations stressed the need to protect the privacy of the involved parties. “For corporate and industrial security reasons, it is critical that beneficial ownership information is maintained in a confidential, secure, and non-public database,” they said. “We trust that FinCEN will keep data security at the forefront as this system is developed.”

The groups further explained the prevalence of LLCs and how they are in some cases used to meet regulatory compliance. But they stressed the need for collaboration with the FAA and FinCEN to avoid duplicative or conflicting requirements.

“Collaboration between the FAA and FinCEN on standards for beneficial ownership reporting will be critical to ensuring that the aviation industry has a clear set of reporting requirements,” said Scott O’Brien, NBAA's senior director for government affairs. “NBAA fully supports the goals of the CTA and looks forward to working with FinCEN on a system that takes into account unique business aviation concerns while protecting sensitive beneficial ownership information.”