WASHINGTON—THE Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said it has issued two rules aimed at helping safeguard the residential real estate and investment adviser sectors from illicit finance.
The rules are part of the U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption.
According to FinCEN, the final residential real estate rule will require certain industry professionals to report information to FinCEN about non-financed transfers of residential real estate to a legal entity or trust, which present a high illicit finance risk. The rule will increase transparency, limit the ability of illicit actors to anonymously launder illicit proceeds through the American housing market, and bolster law enforcement investigative efforts, FinCEN said.
What Second Rule Would Do
Meanwhile, FinCEN said its final investment adviser rule will apply anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements—including AML/CFT compliance programs and suspicious activity reporting obligations—to certain investment advisers that are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as those that report to the SEC as exempt reporting advisers.
The rule will help address the uneven application of AML/CFT requirements across this industry, FinCEN said.