NAR met with staff from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) at the U.S. Department of Treasury to discuss a number of matters including anti-money laundering laws and beneficial ownership regulations. NAR discussed the new Anti-Money Laundering Act, and the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) contained within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed Congress this year. Under the Corporate Transparency Act, FinCEN is statutorily required to develop beneficial ownership regulations by January 1, 2022. Earlier this year, FinCEN issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) announcing development of the beneficial ownership regulations and to seek comments from stakeholders regarding recommendations proposed regulations.
On May 5, 2021, NAR submitted commentspdf in response to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN’s) Advance Notice of Proposed rulemaking to implement the beneficial ownership information reporting provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). In the comments, NAR raised support for FinCEN’s collection of beneficial ownership information and expressed concerns regarding any regulations that may be burdensome to small businesses and privacy concerns. NAR will continue to engage with the Department of Treasury on anti-money laundering matters impacting the real estate industry.