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  • FinCEN renews and expands real estate GTOs

    Financial Crimes

    On April 21, FinCEN updated its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs). The GTOs require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” (i.e., the transaction does not involve external financing) for residential real estate in certain counties within the following major metropolitan areas: Boston; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Houston; Laredo; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, and Maryland (DMV) area; as well as the City and County of Baltimore, the County of Fairfield, Connecticut, and the Hawaiian islands of Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai. FinCEN also expanded the geographic coverage of the GTOs to additional counties in both Connecticut and Colorado, after the agency—in conjunction with law enforcement partners—identified the regions as presenting greater risks for illicit finance activity through non-financed purchases of residential real estate. The purchase price required to trigger the reporting requirements in the relevant areas remains set at $300,000, with the exception of the City and County of Baltimore, which is set at $50,000. The renewed GTOs take effect April 25 and end October 21, 2023.

    FinCEN FAQs regarding the GTOs are available here.

    Financial Crimes Of Interest to Non-US Persons FinCEN GTO Anti-Money Laundering

  • FinCEN renews and expands real estate GTOs

    Financial Crimes

    On October 26, FinCEN renewed and expanded its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs). The GTOs require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” (i.e., the transaction does not involve external financing) for residential real estate in certain counties within the following major metropolitan areas: “Boston; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, and Maryland (DMV) area; as well as the City and County of Baltimore; the County of Fairfield, Connecticut; and the Hawaiian islands of Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai.” FinCEN also expanded the geographic coverage of the GTOs to counties encompassing Houston and Laredo, Texas, after the agency—in conjunction with law enforcement partners—identified the regions as presenting greater risks for illicit finance activity through non-financed purchases of residential real estate. The purchase amount threshold remains set at $300,000 for residential real estate purchased in the covered areas, with the exception of the City and County of Baltimore for which the purchase threshold is $50,000. The renewed GTOs take effect October 27 and end April 24, 2023. The effective period for the newly added areas begins on November 25.

    FinCEN FAQs regarding the GTOs are available here.

    Financial Crimes Of Interest to Non-US Persons FinCEN GTO Anti-Money Laundering

  • FinCEN renews GTOs covering 12 metropolitan areas

    Financial Crimes

    On April 29, FinCEN reissued the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs). The GTOs require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” (i.e., the transaction does not involve external financing) for residential real estate in the 12 major metropolitan areas covered by the orders. The renewed GTOs are identical to the October 2021 GTOs (covered by InfoBytes here). The purchase amount threshold for the beneficial ownership reporting requirement remains set at $300,000 for residential real estate purchased in the covered areas. The renewed GTOs take effect April 30 and end October 26, and cover certain counties within the following areas: Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle.

    FinCEN FAQs regarding GTOs are available here.

    Financial Crimes FinCEN Of Interest to Non-US Persons Anti-Money Laundering GTO

  • FinCEN fines company for willfully failing to comply with GTO

    Federal Issues

    On April 1, FinCEN announced its first enforcement action for failing to comply with the reporting and recordkeeping requirements of a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO). The 2014 GTO in question was designed to combat what FinCEN and the Department of Justice viewed as widespread trade-based money laundering in the Los Angeles Fashion District, in which businesses accepted bulk cash from Mexican drug trafficking organizations as part the black market peso exchange. The GTO required that a wide range of non-financial businesses within the Los Angeles Fashion District, including perfume stores, travel agencies, and electronics stores, report and keep records related to whether they “received currency in excess of $3,000 in one transaction or two or more related transactions in a 24-hour period.” FinCEN imposed a $275,000 penalty on a perfume company in the Los Angeles Fashion District for failure to report more than 114 covered transactions worth more than $2.3 million. According to FinCEN, these failures were first identified in a 2015 examination by the IRS. Later attempts made by the company to submit reports for the 114 transactions were declared “substantially incomplete,” as the reports, among other things, failed to include customer information or any indication that the cash payments were made on behalf of another person or business. The IRS rejected the reports and referred the matter to FinCEN, who conducted an investigation and determined that the company failed to comply with the reporting and recordkeeping requirements until long after it became aware of the GTO.

    The $275,000 civil money penalty was assessed based on a number of factors, including the company’s allegedly willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and the nature and seriousness of the violations, including the extent of possible public harm and the amounts involved. FinCEN noted that “[w]hile there is no direct evidence indicating that the unreported transactions involved illegal activity or the proceeds of illegal activity, the company’s failures were significant and led to the loss of valuable financial intelligence that could assist law enforcement efforts against significant money laundering activity on behalf of international drug trafficking organizations.” FinCEN also stated that the company’s actions impacted the agency’s mission to safeguard the financial system and target specific illicit financial threats, and that the company’s systemic failure to take any action in response to the GTO enabled them to continue.

    “FinCEN’s enforcement action puts nonfinancial trades and businesses on notice that they must comply with Geographic Targeting Orders,” FinCEN’s acting Director Himamauli Das stated. “This action also illustrates FinCEN’s long-standing efforts to partner with other government agencies to combat money laundering schemes designed to launder the proceeds of criminal activity through nonfinancial trades and businesses in the United States.”

    Federal Issues Financial Crimes FinCEN Enforcement Bank Secrecy Act GTO DOJ IRS

  • FinCEN renews GTOs covering 12 metropolitan areas

    Financial Crimes

    On October 29, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reissued the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs). The GTOs require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” (i.e., the transaction does not involve external financing) for residential real estate in the 12 major metropolitan areas covered by the orders. The renewed GTOs are identical to the April 2021 GTOs (covered by InfoBytes here). The purchase amount threshold for the beneficial ownership reporting requirement remains set at $300,000 for residential real estate purchased in the covered areas. The renewed GTOs take effect November 1 and end April 29, 2022, and cover certain counties within the following areas: Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle.

    FinCEN FAQs regarding GTOs are available here.

    Financial Crimes Of Interest to Non-US Persons FinCEN GTO Beneficial Ownership

  • FinCEN renews GTOs covering 12 metropolitan areas

    Financial Crimes

    On April 29, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reissued the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs). The GTOs require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” (i.e., the transaction does not involve external financing) for residential real estate in the 12 major metropolitan areas covered by the orders. The renewed GTOs are identical to the November 2020 GTOs (covered by InfoBytes here). The purchase amount threshold for the beneficial ownership reporting requirement remains set at $300,000 for residential real estate purchased in the covered areas. The GTOs do not require reporting for purchases made by legal entities that are U.S. publicly-traded companies.

    The renewed GTOs take effect May 5 and end October 31, and cover certain counties within the following areas: Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle.

    FinCEN FAQs regarding GTOs are available here.

    Financial Crimes FinCEN GTO Of Interest to Non-US Persons Beneficial Ownership

  • FinCEN renews GTOs covering 12 metropolitan areas

    Financial Crimes

    On November 5, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reissued the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs). The GTOs require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” (i.e., the transaction does not involve external financing) for residential real estate in the 12 major metropolitan areas covered by the orders. The renewed GTOs are identical to the May 2020 GTOs (covered by InfoBytes here). The purchase amount threshold for the beneficial ownership reporting requirement remains set at $300,000 for residential real estate purchased in the covered areas. The GTOs do not require reporting for purchases made by legal entities that are U.S. publicly-traded companies.

    The renewed GTOs take effect November 5, will extend until May 4, 2021, and cover certain counties within the following areas: Boston; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Honolulu; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; and Seattle.

    FinCEN FAQs regarding GTOs are available here.

    Financial Crimes FinCEN GTO Of Interest to Non-US Persons

  • FinCEN renews GTOs covering 12 metropolitan areas

    Financial Crimes

    On May 8, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reissued the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs). The GTOs require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” (i.e., the transaction does not involve external financing) for residential real estate in the 12 major metropolitan areas covered by the orders. The renewed GTOs are identical to the November 2019 GTOs (covered by InfoBytes here). The purchase amount threshold for the beneficial ownership reporting requirement remains set at $300,000 for residential real estate purchased in the covered areas. The GTOs do not require reporting for purchases made by legal entities that are U.S. publicly-traded companies.

    The renewed GTOs take effect May 10, will extend until November 5, 2020, and cover certain counties within the following areas: Boston; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Honolulu; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; and Seattle. 

    FinCEN FAQs regarding GTOs are available here.

    Financial Crimes FinCEN GTO Of Interest to Non-US Persons

  • FinCEN renews GTOs covering 12 metropolitan areas; legal entities that are U.S. publicly-traded companies not required to report

    Financial Crimes

    On November 8, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Order (GTO), which requires U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” (i.e., the transaction does not involve external financing) for residential real estate in 12 major metropolitan areas. While the purchase amount threshold for the beneficial ownership reporting requirement remains set at $300,000 for residential real estate purchased in the 12 covered areas, FinCEN modified the renewed GTO to note that it “will not require reporting for purchases made by legal entities that are U.S. publicly-traded companies. Real estate purchases by such entities are identifiable through other business filings.”

    The renewed GTO takes effect November 12 and covers certain counties within the following areas: Boston; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Honolulu; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; and Seattle.

    FinCEN FAQs regarding GTOs are available here.

    Financial Crimes FinCEN GTO Of Interest to Non-US Persons

  • FinCEN renews GTOs covering 12 metropolitan areas; continued focus on AML risk in related shell companies

    Financial Crimes

    On May 15, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Order (GTO), which requires U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” (i.e., the transaction does not involve external financing) for high-end residential real estate in 12 major metropolitan areas. The purchase amount threshold for the beneficial ownership reporting requirement remains set at $300,000 for residential real estate purchased in the 12 covered areas.

    The renewed GTO takes effect May 16, and covers certain counties within the following areas: Boston; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Honolulu; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; and Seattle.

    FinCEN FAQs regarding GTOs are available here.

    Previous InfoBytes coverage on FinCEN GTOs available here.

    Financial Crimes Agency Rule-Making & Guidance FinCEN GTO Anti-Money Laundering Of Interest to Non-US Persons

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