Treasury rolls out residential real estate transparency rules to combat money laundering

The Biden administration wants to make residential real estate transactions more transparent — by unmasking the owners of all-cash purchases as part of its ongoing effort to combat money laundering and the movement of dirty money through the American f...

WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration wants to make residential real estate transactions more transparent by unmasking the owners of certain all-cash purchases. It's part of an ongoing effort to combat money laundering and the movement of dirty money through the American financial system.

The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed a regulation on Wednesday that would require real estate professionals to report information to the agency about non-financed sales of residential real estate to legal entities, trusts and shell companies.

All-cash purchases of residential real estate are considered at high risk for money laundering. The rule would not require the reporting of sales to individuals.

“Illicit actors are exploiting the U.S. residential real estate market to launder and hide the proceeds of serious crimes with anonymity, while law-abiding Americans bear the cost of inflated housing prices,” FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki said in a statement.

She said the proposal is an "important step toward not only curbing abuse of the U.S. residential real estate sector, but safeguarding our economic and national security.”