Those three North Korean companies dissolved by Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray in May of last year were trying to raise money for the development of weapons of mass destruction.
The tantalizing tidbit was revealed as a brief mention during testimony before the House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee on House Bill 69, which would allow the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office to more immediately dissolve companies owned by foreign adversaries.
The bill was given a unanimous thumbs up Monday, after continued testimony on the bill suggested that it was only through a technicality that Wyoming was able to act so quickly to shut down the three North Korean firms which, according to the FBI, were engaged in both money laundering and identity theft.
“After a close consultation with the FBI and our own thorough investigation, (we) found that they had in fact filed fraudulent documents with our office, so we were able to administratively dissolve those entities,” Wyoming Secretary of State Policy Director Joe Rubino said. “However, this started an internal discussion with our office, and then with the Joint Committee throughout the interim, about what we view as a really huge loophole within our statute.”
Had the three North Korean companies — identified at the time as Culture Box LLC, Next Nets LLC and Blackish Tech LLC — not provided fraudulent information on their application, the secretary of state could not have acted so quickly, Rubino said.
House Bill 69 would change that, making it possible for the secretary of state to take more immediate action.
Cowboy Cocktails And Poison Pills
North Korea likely isn’t the only poison pill hiding under the cover of a Wyoming LLC.
While Delaware had once been king when it comes to incorporations per capita, Wyoming has recently surpassed it, in part thanks to what’s been dubbed the “Cowboy Cocktail.”
It’s an arrangement where an LLC, instead of a named person, is designated as the controller of a trust. Having a shell company at the helm of a trust creates a veil of secrecy that’s difficult to penetrate, and it’s one that’s already allowed Russian oligarchs, like Moscow’s Igor Makarov and Argentina’s Braggio family, to stash their cash and hide questionable business dealings from prying eyes.
Secretary of State Chuck Gray has told Cowboy State previously that the issue is one his office takes seriously and is already fighting against.
“Last year, at my request, our business division formalized a process authorized by existing statute that had been rarely used by previous administrations to dissolve business entities that filed false or fraudulent documents with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office,” he said late last year. “Using this process our office has taken action against a number of bad actors.”
60 Businesses Dissolved So Far
On Monday, Rubino testified that the Secretary of State’s Office had identified and dissolved about 60 businesses that put false or fraudulent information in their applications on file with the office.
Gray, testifying Friday, told lawmakers that HB 69 is one of a suite he and lawmakers developed during the 2024 interim to attack fraud issues head-on in Wyoming.
“Of all those (bills), this is the one that we are the most excited about,” he said. “We’ve really tried to take on this fraud issue and not say everything’s fine.”
HB 69 would align with the federal government’s list of foreign adversaries, Rubino and Gray both testified.
“We do think that’s the way to go on this,” Gray said.
The federal list of foreign adversaries presently includes China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and the Maduro Regime in Venezuela.
Roll Call
House Bill 69 faced no opposition during its committee hearing on House Corporations, and there was little public testimony for or against it.
Representative Mike Yin, D-Jackson, made a motion to move the bill forward, which was seconded by Rep. Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne. Members of the committee, all of whom voted aye, also include Chairman Christopher Knapp, R-Gillette; Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne; Rep. Paul Hoeft, R-Powell; Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Cheyenne; Rep. Tony Locke, R-Casper; Rep. Joe Webb, R-Lyman; Rep. Nina Webber, R-Cody was absent, but excused.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
