Services related to the sale, purchase, leasing, or development of real estate, including property transactions and advisory. These services are typically offered by real estate agencies, brokers, or professionals.
Main/
Real Estate Services
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Code
PS0110
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Name
Real Estate Services
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Version
1.0
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Category
Real Estate & Property Services
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Created
2025-03-14
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Modified
2025-04-02
Related Techniques
- Real estate agencies or brokers may facilitate illicit property transactions with minimal scrutiny of funding sources.
- Criminals can obscure beneficial ownership by using proxies or shell entities when purchasing or leasing properties.
- Enable criminals to invest illicit capital in property development or infrastructure projects, portraying it as legitimate financing.
- Facilitate concealment of ultimate beneficiaries through partitioned ownership stakes, multiple developer roles, or complex development agreements.
- Real estate brokers or agents may unwittingly process transactions funded by illicit wealth if identification checks are weak.
- Criminals exploit minimal transparency around beneficial ownership to shield themselves behind layered property purchases.
- Criminals can exploit real estate agencies or brokers to establish or legitimize rental agreements concealing illicit funds as rent.
- They may artificially inflate monthly rental amounts or fabricate tenancy arrangements, making the property appear to generate legitimate leasing income while masking the true origin of the funds.
- Real estate brokers or agencies may accept large cash payments without verifying the source, enabling illicit funds to be ‘parked’ in property.
- Lax client due diligence or willingness to accept non-traditional financing methods can facilitate hiding questionable cash inflows.
- Real estate professionals can assist in buying or selling properties through nominee buyers or shell companies, concealing identities of illicit fund controllers.
- Large cash payments or complex ownership transfers leverage professional expertise to evade standard AML scrutiny.
- Criminals can bypass official registration or documentation processes when transferring property titles, resulting in hidden ownership that does not appear in public records.
- By relying on private, undocumented agreements, they avoid standard KYC checks and obscure the true beneficial owner, complicating any subsequent AML or investigative efforts.
- Real estate agencies or brokers managing property auctions may lack robust KYC or beneficial ownership checks, permitting straw buyers or shell entities to participate anonymously.
- Distressed or depressed auction conditions allow criminals to underbid and acquire properties below market rates with illicit money, while inflated bids serve to transfer or launder funds.
- Rapid turnover or flipping of auctioned properties creates a veil of legitimacy, layering transactions to conceal criminal assets.
- Criminals embed illicit funds by attributing them to inflated or fictitious renovation invoices, artificially increasing the property's declared value.
- Subsequent property sales at higher prices integrate the laundered amounts into seemingly legitimate proceeds.
- By operating without proper licensing, these brokerage-like services avoid mandatory AML programs, failing to conduct customer identification or suspicious activity reporting.
- Criminals can funnel illicit proceeds into property deals arranged by unlicensed intermediaries, introducing or integrating illicit funds with minimal scrutiny.
- Purchases and sales arranged through unregistered brokers often omit proper documentation or due diligence, obscuring beneficial ownership and concealing the source of funds.
- Criminals impersonate legitimate real estate brokers or agencies, convincing timeshare owners they have willing buyers or lucrative exit deals.
- They demand repeated 'closing costs' or 'marketing fees' but never complete an actual resale, leaving victims uncompensated while proceeds are siphoned off.