In order to succeed, terrorists, organized crime, drug cartels and major fraudsters must have the ability to raise, move, store and spend money. Anonymous shell companies, that shield beneficial ownership, are one of the primary tools used by bad guys to openly acquire and access nefarious funds.

These dubious dealings are not limited to Switzerland, Monaco and “offshore” tropical islands. The United States is among the most egregious offenders with its woeful lack of regulations requiring the true ownership of companies to be identified.

Russian death merchant Viktor Bout used at least a dozen shell companies incorporated in Delaware, Texas and Florida to operate an arms smuggling empire that fueled conflict around the world. Hezbollah created shell companies in North Carolina to smuggle cigarettes to finance terrorism. The Los Zetas Mexican drug cartel owned a quarter horse ranch in Oklahoma and used a shell company formed in Texas to launder money. Florida attorney Scott Rothstein used as many as 85 shell companies in his $1.2 billion dollar Ponzi scheme.

Why is the issue of beneficial ownership through shell companies so problematic in the United States? In most states, less information is required to incorporate than is needed to obtain a driver’s license or register to vote. In some states, you can form a corporation within 24 hours without any prior review by a state official. In Wyoming, four blocks from the state capital, you can obtain a mailbox that can be used as a “corporate suite” to establish your shell company, complete with faux directors and C-level executives. In Wilmington, Del., one specific address serves as headquarters for over 200,000 companies.

Those who do not believe that anonymous shell companies are a critical tool for criminals and terrorists are fooling themselves. I have dealt with money laundering, fraud and related criminal activity for 41 years, the majority of those years with the FBI. Following 9/11, I established and ran the FBI’s Terrorist Financing Operations Section. I am acutely aware of the roadblocks investigators encounter when they are trying to determine who is financing these illegal activities.

On two occasions, I testified before congressional committees and advised that shell companies were one of the primary vulnerabilities facing the financial services sector. The first was on October 3, 2001. The second was on May 18, 2012. If I were to testify today, I would again make the same statement.

It is time for Congress to act on this issue. For years, Sen. Carl Levin championed beneficial ownership legislation. He and Sens. Chuck Grassley, Dianne Feinstein and Tom Harkin just reintroduced the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act, which would require disclosure of beneficial owners.

In order to pass this legislation, Congress and secretaries of state, who are responsible for incorporation, must work together and build consensus. It is time to demand beneficial ownership transparency and stop providing the criminals and terrorists with advantageous financial avenues to aid them in their efforts to harm innocent citizens.

Dennis M. Lormel was the first chief of the FBI's Terrorist Financing Operations Section, established after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He retired from the FBI in 2003 following almost 28 years as a special agent and now runs an investigative consultancy, DML Associates LLC.