WASHINGTON | The Treasury Department says it will begin tracking sales of high-end real estate in two of the country’s most expensive markets — Miami and Manhattan — to try to crack down on money laundering.
The department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network says it will temporarily require certain title companies to identify individuals behind companies that buy properties through all-cash transactions in those two markets.
The government says it’s concerned that some of these real estate deals are being conducted by corrupt foreign government officials or international criminals who are using the purchase of expensive real estate to launder dirty money.