US focuses on money laundering in real estate with new reporting requirements
The U.S. Treasury Department has announced it will begin to require disclosure of some people who use cash to purchase real estate through shell companies in two areas known for high-priced properties.
The effort to combat money laundering is beginning with reporting requirements for sales above $3 million in Manhattan and above $1 million in Miami-Dade County, the New York Times reports. Disclosure applies to anyone who owns at least a quarter stake in the entity buying the property.
The sales information will have to be disclosed by title insurance companies from March through August. An evaluation will determine whether to impose reporting requirements throughout the country.
According to the Times, it is the first time the federal government has required such disclosure. “It is likely to send shudders through the real estate industry,” the article says, “which has benefited enormously in recent years from a building boom increasingly dependent on wealthy, secretive buyers.”
