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Real estate is often used to launder illegally gained money[0], so likely drug money as well. > Real estate has long been a preferred vehicle for money launder

by wsc981 5y ago

Real estate is often used to launder illegally gained money[0], so likely drug money as well. > Real estate has long been a preferred vehicle for money laundering. All too often, the proceeds of crime and corruption is used to purchase homes. Once the real estate is re-sold, the capital involved becomes legally acquired. The trick is to mask where the money comes from: Criminal networks do this by setting up anonymous companies to hide their connection to the purchase of the property. This briefing reveals the scope and seriousness of this problem and makes recommendations for what must be done to fix it. --- [0]: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corruption-and-money-laundering/anonymous-companies-used-to-launder-money-in-us-real-estate/ https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corruption-and-mo...

arcticbull 5y ago
Which is why we have AML/KYC at most steps of a real-estate transaction. Further, saying you can do crime with something else so let's look the other way is nihilist and pretty backwards to me. In that case let's go after both.
vkou 5y ago
> Real estate is often used to launder illegally gained money[0], so likely drug money as well. And if you tell your realtor that you're using drug money to finance your downpayment, and they let you go through with the transaction, they are going to be sharing your cell when the law catches up to you. If they facilitate the transaction unknowingly, they are in the clear. Unfortunately for the defendant in this case, they were knowingly engaged in money laundering.
- rtkwe 5y ago
  How money like does something have to be for it to be 'laundering'? Do stores need to not sell anything to someone they know does illegal things because they could sell those things on as a form of money laundering? The implications seems pretty broad for all sorts of businesses if they sell anything to a criminal.
  - vkou 5y ago
    > How money like does something have to be for it to be 'laundering'? It has to be a fungible store of value, that can reasonably convertible into cash. > Do stores need to not sell anything to someone they know does illegal things because they could sell those things on as a form of money laundering? If a store is selling something that itself can be effectively resold, yes. Gift cards, for instance. Loaves of bread, not so much. Real estate, yes. Automobiles, yes. A cellphone, not so much. A cargo-container full of cellphones? Maybe. > The implications seems pretty broad for all sorts of businesses if they sell anything to a criminal. No, the implications are not broad if you sell to a criminal. They are broad if you sell to a known-to-you criminal. This is not a strict liability offense. This isn't that complicated a concept. If a killer hires an Uber to drive him to the scene of the crime, the driver isn't an accomplice. If that same killer hires an Uber, and tells the driver why he's taking the trip, he is. If I ask to crash on your couch, while I'm running from the law, you aren't aiding a fugitive. If I tell you that I need a place to hide from the cops until things blow over, you are. Don't knowingly[1] help people commit crimes, and you'll have a lot fewer legal problems in your life. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessory_(legal_term) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessory_(legal_term)
CRConrad 5y ago
> Real estate is often used to launder illegally gained money[0], so likely drug money as well. Yeah, there was this guy who did a lot of deals with more or less shady Russians, for properties in Florida and flats in this eponymous Tower he has in New York city and so on...

by wsc981 5y ago

arcticbull 5y ago

Which is why we have AML/KYC at most steps of a real-estate transaction. Further, saying you can do crime with something else so let's look the other way is nihilist and pretty backwards to me. In that case let's go after both.

vkou 5y ago

> Real estate is often used to launder illegally gained money[0], so likely drug money as well. And if you tell your realtor that you're using drug money to finance your downpayment, and they let you go through with the transaction, they are going to be sharing your cell when the law catches up to you. If they facilitate the transaction unknowingly, they are in the clear. Unfortunately for the defendant in this case, they were knowingly engaged in money laundering.

rtkwe 5y ago
How money like does something have to be for it to be 'laundering'? Do stores need to not sell anything to someone they know does illegal things because they could sell those things on as a form of money laundering? The implications seems pretty broad for all sorts of businesses if they sell anything to a criminal.
- vkou 5y ago
  > How money like does something have to be for it to be 'laundering'? It has to be a fungible store of value, that can reasonably convertible into cash. > Do stores need to not sell anything to someone they know does illegal things because they could sell those things on as a form of money laundering? If a store is selling something that itself can be effectively resold, yes. Gift cards, for instance. Loaves of bread, not so much. Real estate, yes. Automobiles, yes. A cellphone, not so much. A cargo-container full of cellphones? Maybe. > The implications seems pretty broad for all sorts of businesses if they sell anything to a criminal. No, the implications are not broad if you sell to a criminal. They are broad if you sell to a known-to-you criminal. This is not a strict liability offense. This isn't that complicated a concept. If a killer hires an Uber to drive him to the scene of the crime, the driver isn't an accomplice. If that same killer hires an Uber, and tells the driver why he's taking the trip, he is. If I ask to crash on your couch, while I'm running from the law, you aren't aiding a fugitive. If I tell you that I need a place to hide from the cops until things blow over, you are. Don't knowingly[1] help people commit crimes, and you'll have a lot fewer legal problems in your life. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessory_(legal_term) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessory_(legal_term)

CRConrad 5y ago

> Real estate is often used to launder illegally gained money[0], so likely drug money as well. Yeah, there was this guy who did a lot of deals with more or less shady Russians, for properties in Florida and flats in this eponymous Tower he has in New York city and so on...