Ottawa to Introduce New Realtor Rules to Address Rise in Real Estate Money Laundering

Real estate fraud and money laundering are on the rise in Canada despite attempts to shut down bad actors, according to a newly released government report. Ottawa plans to change that by implementing new rules under the Proceeds Of Crime And Terrorist Financing Act to require realtors to identify anyone involved in the purchase or sale of property in Canada, the Department of Finance wrote in a July 6 regulatory notice. Realtors are currently mandated only to verify the identity of buyers under regulations put in place in 2020. “Currently real estate representatives are only required to take ‘reasonable measures’ to identify unrepresented parties,” the department wrote, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter....