The head of the government's office for terrorism financing and money laundering, Predrag Mitrovic, said earlier this month that his office is going to reinforce its control over the real estate market as part of the fight against money laundering.
Real estate is big business in Montenegro. Around the capital, Podgorica, construction and restoration of commercial buildings -- with offices, flats and luxury shops -- is a common sight, as is the remodeling and upgrading of personal residences.
According to a US State Department report, however, this sector is also a favoured venue for money laundering.
"Investment by foreign individuals and businesses in expensive real estate along the Montenegro coast has raised prices and generated concerns about the source of funds used for these investments," says the International Narcotics Control Report 2007, released on March 1st.
Police and prosecutors are not encouraged to investigate real estate moves because the court system is not prepared to deal with the fallout, the document said.
It urges Montenegro to "strengthen its legislation to establish more robust asset seizure and forfeiture regimes, as well as upgrade its capacity to strengthen its criminal intelligence and investigative techniques".
According to the State Department, Montenegro continues to have a significant black market for smuggling goods. Illegal income also comes from the drug trade, corruption, tax evasion, organised crime and other types of financial crime.
Mitrovic says the government plans to devote special attention to tracking real estate deals. "Beside the [legal] obligation to follow and analyse reports that come to our database, we are forming an additional database [which will] contain copies of real estate trade contracts," he told local media.
He hinted at a new initiative for obtaining competencies in order to scrutinise real estate trading, as well as to help identify the real owners of companies that are engaged in trade in Montenegro.
According to official data, in 2005, 14 cases suspected of money laundering were submitted to the department in charge. In 2006, 29 cases were submitted, while this year has seen eight so far.
Opposition parties say that too little is being done and at too slow a pace. "The problem cannot be hidden anymore," said Nebojsa Medojevic, leader of the opposition Movement for Changes party.
The report's findings will deter prominent foreign investors from coming to Montenegro, Medojevic warned. He said the three biggest investors in the region -- the United States, Germany and Italy, have a negligible role in Montenegro.
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2007/03/26/feature-02
Showing posts with label Real Estate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Real Estate. Show all posts
on Sunday, December 10, 2006
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December 5, 2006
FinCEN Sees Growth in Suspected Money Laundering in Commercial Real Estate Industry
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today released an assessment showing considerable growth in money laundering-related suspicious activity reporting associated with the commercial real estate industry. An examination of a sampling of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed over a 10-year period found that the growth in filings began to accelerate in the 2003-2004 period. This increase correlates with an expansion of the real estate market and closely tracks similar trends seen in FinCEN’s recently-issued Mortgage Loan Fraud study.
FinCEN’s analysis was based on a review of a random sampling of SARs involving commercial real estate-related transactions in which the SAR narratives described transactions or activities involving suspected money laundering and related illicit activity. The types of illicit activity described in this group of SARs were found to fall into five categories: structuring, money laundering, international transfers, tax evasion and miscellaneous illicit activity. FinCEN published this assessment to highlight these reported activities in order to assist financial institutions in focusing their diligence and compliance efforts.
Among its findings, FinCEN found that property management, real estate investment, realty, and real estate development companies were the most commonly-reported entities associated with commercial real estate-related money laundering. The most commonly-reported activity appears to be money laundering to promote tax evasion. There also may be an increasing trend towards using commercial real estate-related accounts to launder money for politically-exposed persons and for promoting informal value transfer systems.
http://www.fincen.gov/LaunderingCRE.html
December 5, 2006
FinCEN Sees Growth in Suspected Money Laundering in Commercial Real Estate Industry
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today released an assessment showing considerable growth in money laundering-related suspicious activity reporting associated with the commercial real estate industry. An examination of a sampling of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed over a 10-year period found that the growth in filings began to accelerate in the 2003-2004 period. This increase correlates with an expansion of the real estate market and closely tracks similar trends seen in FinCEN’s recently-issued Mortgage Loan Fraud study.
FinCEN’s analysis was based on a review of a random sampling of SARs involving commercial real estate-related transactions in which the SAR narratives described transactions or activities involving suspected money laundering and related illicit activity. The types of illicit activity described in this group of SARs were found to fall into five categories: structuring, money laundering, international transfers, tax evasion and miscellaneous illicit activity. FinCEN published this assessment to highlight these reported activities in order to assist financial institutions in focusing their diligence and compliance efforts.
Among its findings, FinCEN found that property management, real estate investment, realty, and real estate development companies were the most commonly-reported entities associated with commercial real estate-related money laundering. The most commonly-reported activity appears to be money laundering to promote tax evasion. There also may be an increasing trend towards using commercial real estate-related accounts to launder money for politically-exposed persons and for promoting informal value transfer systems.
http://www.fincen.gov/LaunderingCRE.html
12/06/2006
The president and chief executive of a Modesto real estate brokerage company has pleaded guilty in federal court to 122 counts of fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme to defraud homeowners and lenders of millions of dollars in cash.
Tony Daniloo, a 32-year-old Turlock man, entered his plea Tuesday and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 20.
According to the indictment against him handed up by a federal grand jury on Aug. 31, Daniloo secretly embezzled large amounts of money from real estate clients in the East Bay and the Central Valley.
The indictment alleges that Daniloo defrauded homeowners of approximately $7 million in cash that the victims intended to use for their own cash needs.
Prosecutors say that from 2000 to 2002, Daniloo managed the Dublin branch office of Residential Credit Corp., a mortgage brokerage company based in Westminster, Calif.
They say that in 2003, Daniloo co-founded DreamLife Financial, which maintained headquarters in Modesto and as many as seven branch offices, and served as its president and chief executive until it closed in December 2004.
The indictment alleges that Daniloo's clients at both Residential Credit Corporation and DreamLife sought to refinance their properties in order to convert the equity in their properties for their cash needs.
Instead, according to the charges, Daniloo altered escrow documents to cause large amounts of cash intended for his clients to be deposited into his personal bank accounts.
The indictment alleges that Daniloo laundered his criminal proceeds by making numerous "lulling payments'' to victim homeowners, as well as spending massive amounts of stolen money to garner publicity for DreamLife.
For example, prosecutors say Daniloo made a $1 million pledge to the athletic department at California State University, Stanislaus in exchange for the university renaming its athletic arena "DreamLife Arena.''
And in 2004, DreamLife was a finalist for naming rights of the San Francisco 49ers' football stadium at Candlestick Point.
In addition to the federal charges, Daniloo faces local charges in Alameda County.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan said Daniloo's guilty plea "demonstrates that federal law enforcement will work to hold accountable those who would enrich themselves through real estate fraud at the expense of innocent homeowners.''
Ryan said, "Fraud in real estate financing can deprive homeowners of their life savings.''
http://cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2006/12/06/n/HeadlineNews/FRAUD-PLEA/resources_bcn_html
The president and chief executive of a Modesto real estate brokerage company has pleaded guilty in federal court to 122 counts of fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme to defraud homeowners and lenders of millions of dollars in cash.
Tony Daniloo, a 32-year-old Turlock man, entered his plea Tuesday and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 20.
According to the indictment against him handed up by a federal grand jury on Aug. 31, Daniloo secretly embezzled large amounts of money from real estate clients in the East Bay and the Central Valley.
The indictment alleges that Daniloo defrauded homeowners of approximately $7 million in cash that the victims intended to use for their own cash needs.
Prosecutors say that from 2000 to 2002, Daniloo managed the Dublin branch office of Residential Credit Corp., a mortgage brokerage company based in Westminster, Calif.
They say that in 2003, Daniloo co-founded DreamLife Financial, which maintained headquarters in Modesto and as many as seven branch offices, and served as its president and chief executive until it closed in December 2004.
The indictment alleges that Daniloo's clients at both Residential Credit Corporation and DreamLife sought to refinance their properties in order to convert the equity in their properties for their cash needs.
Instead, according to the charges, Daniloo altered escrow documents to cause large amounts of cash intended for his clients to be deposited into his personal bank accounts.
The indictment alleges that Daniloo laundered his criminal proceeds by making numerous "lulling payments'' to victim homeowners, as well as spending massive amounts of stolen money to garner publicity for DreamLife.
For example, prosecutors say Daniloo made a $1 million pledge to the athletic department at California State University, Stanislaus in exchange for the university renaming its athletic arena "DreamLife Arena.''
And in 2004, DreamLife was a finalist for naming rights of the San Francisco 49ers' football stadium at Candlestick Point.
In addition to the federal charges, Daniloo faces local charges in Alameda County.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan said Daniloo's guilty plea "demonstrates that federal law enforcement will work to hold accountable those who would enrich themselves through real estate fraud at the expense of innocent homeowners.''
Ryan said, "Fraud in real estate financing can deprive homeowners of their life savings.''
http://cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2006/12/06/n/HeadlineNews/FRAUD-PLEA/resources_bcn_html
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