Title Insurance and Your Transaction
This newsletter explores the emerging legal topics and issues affecting the condominium and cooperative services industry. Thought-leading attorneys from Moritt Hock & Hamroff’s Condominium and Cooperative Services Practice...more
On February 16, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, which would require certain real estate professionals to report certain transaction information to FinCEN in...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on Feb. 7, 2024, issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing a new nationwide reporting obligation to be imposed on settlement...more
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...more
There have been some interesting developments of late with respect to the ownership of real property in parts of the English-speaking world. For example, Canada has imposed a temporary ban on the purchase of such property by...more
FinCEN announced yesterday that, once again, it is extending the Geographic Targeting Order, or GTO, which requires U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind so-called “shell companies” used in...more
On December 6, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit comments in preparing a proposed rule that would increase transparency in the U.S....more
In This Issue. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), in response to an increased number of inquiries and access requests from companies with fintech and other narrow purpose charters, invited...more
In the News. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) granted a no-action letter (NAL) regarding a proposed small-dollar credit product and sought comment on the CFPB’s plan to study how consumers locate, comprehend...more
As expected, on May 8, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) reissued its Geographic Targeting Orders (“GTOs”) requiring U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind legal entities...more
In its 2020 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing (“2020 Strategy”), the U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) has laid out its AML and money laundering enforcement priorities. Last week, we...more
On November 8, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) reissued its Geographic Targeting Orders (“GTOs”) requiring U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind legal entities used in...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has, once again, extended its Geographic Targeting Order (“GTO”) requiring U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind legal entities used in...more
On November 15, 2018, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced the issuance of a “Revised” Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) that requires U.S. title insurance companies (Covered Business) to identify the...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FINCEN”) announced on November 15 that it has renewed and revised its Geographic Targeting Orders (“GTOs”) that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons...more
A GTO is a Geographic Targeting Order issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) under the Bank secrecy Act (BSA) for a specific geographic area. ...more
Breaking from its recent practice of making public announcements about Geographic Targeting Orders, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) last month quietly extended its real estate GTOs for...more
FinCEN has announced the expansion of its Geographical Targeting Orders (GTOs) for high-end cash buyers of real estate. The expansion is two-fold. First, FinCEN has expanded the scope of Form 8300 reportable transactions to...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced on August 22, 2017, that it is expanding its earlier Geographic Targeting Orders (GTO) that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons...more
Gov. Brown Opposes Measure S - In a statement published less than two weeks before Los Angeles' Consolidated Municipal and Special Elections to be held on March 7, 2017, California Gov. Jerry Brown came out in opposition...more
FinCEN is extending its campaign to press title insurance companies to reveal the real buyers behind shell companies that pay cash for high-end real estate deals in select cities around the country....more
FinCEN announced today that it is renewing the existing Geographical Targeting Orders (GTOs) issued in July 2016 that require all title insurance companies to identify and report on the natural persons behind shell companies...more
Continuing its efforts to deter the use of real estate as a vehicle to launder proceeds of criminal activity, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently announced its plan to extend the reach and time frame of...more
FinCEN has announced a major expansion and extension of its geographic targeting orders (GTOs) aimed at high-end cash buyers of real estate. This action reflects FinCEN’s continued efforts to prevent money laundering through...more
Choice real estate markets such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and San Antonio may offer enticing amenities like buzzing nightlife or sunny beaches, but thanks to the Financial Crimes Enforcement...more