U.S. Extends Real Estate Intelligence-Gathering Order

The U.S. Treasury Department extended for another six months a program collecting data on certain residential real estate deals aimed at preventing money laundering in the property market. The Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) requires title insurance companies to file paperwork with the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) identifying beneficial owners of limited liability companies (LLCs), partnerships and other business entities that use cash, a check or virtual currency to buy residential real estate worth at least USD 300,000 in 12 major metropolitan areas. Real estate transactions generally are public after completed, but buyers can introduce secrecy into the process, including through the use of LLCs, which can shield their ownership, and the use of currency methods that avoid banks, which typically would conduct due diligence on a buyer. Such secrecy, as well as the general stability of real estate markets, makes property purchases attractive to those laundering money or evading sanctions, anti-corruption researchers say.