January 14, 2016
The U.S. Treasury Department is starting an initiative to track and identify secret buyers of luxury real estate in both Miami-Dade County and New York City. The initiative aims to target all-cash purchases made by L.L.C.s that mask buyers' identities. It's the first time the government has required real estate companies to give names behind all-cash transactions, and it is being done in an effort to focus more on money laundering in real estate.
"We are concerned about the possibility that dirty money is being put into luxury real estate, " stated Jennifer Shasky Calvary, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. "We think some of the bigger risk is around the least transparent transactions."
The government is requiring title insurance companies to discover and submit the names of buyers to the Treasury. That information will be put in a database for law enforcement. In Miami-Dade County, the initiative requires reporting on sales in excess of 1 million dollars. In Manhattan, reporting is required on sales greater than 3 million dollars. The initiative runs from March through August, but if the Treasury finds many sales involving suspicious money, it will require permanent reporting.
Source: New York Times
