U.S. officials on Wednesday ordered title insurance firms to disclose high-value cash purchases of real estate in California, Texas, Florida and New York as part of an effort to identify money laundering. Beginning next month, the firms must name individuals who own at least 25 percent of any company making cash purchases of property at or above $2 million in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego, or $500,000 or more in San Antonio, TX, the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said. The bureau's latest geographic targeting order (GTO) on the U.S. real estate sector,...
The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday ordered title insurance firms to continue reporting "all cash" acquisitions of luxury property in New York, Florida, California and Texas for another six months amid concerns that criminals are still converting their profits into luxury real estate.
Federal cases against attorneys, accountants and other professionals suspected of washing illicit proceeds have risen by roughly 30 percent in the year since the FBI began actively targeting third-party facilitators, according to the head of the bureau's money laundering unit.
The real estate sector's vulnerabilities to money laundering and corruption extend beyond simple schemes to use illicit funds when purchasing property. In many cases, the third parties involved in such deals pose risks too.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday directed title insurance firms involved in real estate transactions to collect data on the beneficial owners of companies acquiring luxury properties in Manhattan and Miami with cash.
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