US Expands its Money Laundering Probe into the Real Estate Market
US authorities are ramping up their money laundering investigations and will be looking into luxury real estate after they found that potentially illicit activity is behind more than 30% of cash purchases, media reported Thursday.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) - a bureau of the U.S. Department of Treasury – is extending and expanding a temporary initiative, the Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs), that requires title insurance companies todetermine and reportthe actual owners of shell companies buying high-end real estate in several metropolitan areas.
Launched in January 2016, the program was designed to increase scrutiny in a field that is particularly vulnerable to money laundering.
It initially targeted the purchase of real estate for cash in Manhattan and Miami but was then extended to cover also New York City, two more counties in the Miami area, five counties in California, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, as well as Bexar county in Texas that includes San Antonio.
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/6911-us-expands-its-money-laundering-probe-into-the-real-estate-market
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