Real estate professionals can provide valuable financial intelligence on possible illicit motives but are subject to fewer government reporting requirements than financial institutions. Key recommendations (complete recommendations in the report):Open an investigation into these real estate purchases. Ensure that the US and South African real estate sectors comply with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) customer due diligence standards. Issue a public advisory on the money laundering risks in real estate. FinCEN should also expand and make permanent the geographic targeting order (GTO) program to cover all real estate purchases, regardless of location in the US.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 20, 2021 21:19 UTC