(Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Sunday it would not enforce an anti-money laundering law that obliges millions of business entities to disclose the identities of their real beneficial owners.

The Trump administration has opposed the Biden-era Corporate Transparency Act on the grounds that it is a burden on low-risk entities. The act has faced repeated legal challenges.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said it would not enforce any penalties under the act against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies.

"Treasury takes this step in the interest of supporting hard-working American taxpayers and small businesses," it said, adding that it intended to issue a rule to narrow the scope of the act to foreign reporting companies.

The measure's supporters say it was designed to address the growing popularity of the United States as a venue for criminals to launder illicit funds.