Compliance
Government to scrutinise luxury property deals in US-style crackdown
Similar targeting orders to those in operation in New York and Florida could force agents to hand over the personal details of buyers involved in high-end transactions across RBKC & Westminster
LonRes acquires AML consultancy
FCS' range of compliance services will help 'free up agents to concentrate on what they do best', says the B2B trading platform and data provider...
Chestertons hires ex-Foxtons compliance guru as head of operations
Industry 'pioneer' Lori Thompson joins Guy Gittins' 33-branch agency after nearly two decades at Foxtons;
High Court strikes out £1.5bn Candy lawsuit
Judge dismisses 'remarkable' action brought by businessman Michael Brown
Jersey, Guernsey & Isle of Man to reveal company ownership
Islands bow to pressure from MPs and confirm plans to open up their central register of beneficial owners
NCA slaps Unexplained Wealth Orders on three prime London properties worth £80m
Investigators are looking into how the acquisitions of three high-value homes were funded, suspecting a link to a politically exposed person believed to be involved in serious crime
Propertymark launches training programme for estate agency bosses
Propertymark Inspire aims to provide ongoing support and compliance advice to agency principals, partners and directors
Select Committee flags five money laundering loopholes
160 properties worth over £4bn have been 'identified as being purchased by high corruption-risk individuals', reports the Joint Committee on the Draft Registration of Overseas Entities Bill
On the changing face of luxury property marketing
Targeting a specific buyer demographic is no longer a case of advertising in the right magazines, notes Simon Deen; the world has moved on, and buying patterns have been forever changed;
Criminal gangs have been laundering billions through Vancouver’s runaway property market
Government of British Columbia faces calls to tighten up its laws as experts warn that at least £3bn was laundered via its real estate market last year, by some of the world's biggest underworld organisations…
Carrington on Q1: Sliding stamp duty receipts and a Brexit fiasco
SDLT was brought in to cool the market, but this one size-fits-all approach has neither worked for the London market nor the Treasury, says LonRes Chairman William Carrington
Opinions sought on new money-laundering rules for high-end letting agents
The EU's Fifth Money Laundering Directive is slated to come into play in January, requiring UK letting agents dealing in rents above €10k per month to carry out AML checks on their clients.