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Van Hollen, Whitehouse Ask GAO to Dig Deeper Into Issue of Money Laundering and Real Estate

Press Release

Date: Oct. 3, 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Finance and Banking Government Operations

Today U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wrote to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking it to further study the issue of whether vulnerabilities in anti-money laundering laws applicable to the real estate sector present increased risk of criminal activity.

The luxury real estate market attracts money launderers because all-cash deals through shell corporations allow criminals to mask their ownership information. Cash-only real estate transactions are subject to fewer reporting requirements than financial institutions have to comply with. Addressing this problem is even more urgent when you consider the widespread reporting on the potential of criminal activity in the real estate market with regards to the Trump Organization and Russia. As such, the Senators believe this must be seriously looked at. They are asking the GAO to investigate efforts the U.S. government is already undertaking to close the regulatory loopholes exploited by the Trump Organization and others through real estate development and to study what more needs to be done.


Senator Van Hollen, as a member of the Senate Banking Committee, will raise this issue tomorrow with the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the Treasury Department and the Director of the Financial Crimes Section at the FBI during the Committee's hearing on combating money laundering and other forms of illicit finance (livestream available here). Senator Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, has introduced comprehensive legislation to address money laundering, including the use of shell corporations to purchase real estate. He has also led multiple hearings in the full Senate Judiciary Committee, the Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee, and the Helsinki Commission to spur action to address dangers from shell corporations used for money laundering and other criminal activity.


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