US real estate a magnet for money laundering

Real estate in the United States has become one of the main destinations for money laundering in international operations; Among the most frequent are those that originate in Mexico.

In the last 20 years, more than $2.6 billion from suspicious funds were invested in the real estate sector in that country, according to Global Financial Integrity (GFI).

Commercial property in the United States offers criminal syndicates, cartels, kleptocrats and fraudsters an easy path to hide and launder their ill-gotten gains., highlights the organization. This is partly due to the fact that it is increasingly common for properties to belong to trusts both in that country and abroad, to which regulations on corporate transparency do not apply.

The GFI report highlights that, according to already public cases, in the last two decades more than $2.6 billion in suspicious funds were invested in commercial real estate in 22 states in the United States. The true figure is likely much higher, given the opaque nature of the industry and the criminality involved.he warns.

Among the reports linked to Mexico, the case of the Legionaries of Christ stands out, a religious organization that the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit had already investigated for alleged money laundering. The report recovered by the GFI is for investments in apartment complexes in Iowa, Florida, Texas, Illinois and Indiana, worth $14 million.

The case of Tomás Yarrington, former governor of Tamaulipas, who in March of last year was sentenced to nine years in prison for accepting more than $3.5 million in illegal bribes and using them to fraudulently purchase properties in the United States, is also taken up.

According to the GFI, the mixed-use development in Texas through which the former PRI member laundered money is worth $7 million.

The report also mentions the case of Rafael Olvera Amezcua, owner and main shareholder of Ficrea, a microfinance company regulated by the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) that committed a scam against around 6,000 savers. The former banker is accused of diverting resources to other companies and investing in properties such as offices and condominiums in Texas and Florida worth $30 million.

Finally, the case of Sefira LLC is exposed, a company that would have laundered 207.7 million dollars from organizations dedicated to drug trafficking through the purchase of condominiums, hotels and commercial buildings in Georgia, Florida, Virginia and Maryland. The US government reached an agreement with this company for accepting millions of dollars through the black currency market to invest in various real estate projects.

The report highlights that some of the laundering in real estate is due to lax or non-existent reporting requirements, plus more and more homes are now owned by legal entities and arrangements, including trusts.