Source: Fox Business —
Wealthy Russian oligarchs are likely investing in U.S. commercial real estate and trying to sidestep sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine last year, according to a warning sent to banks by the Treasury Department’s financial crimes and intelligence unit.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) told banks to be on the lookout for suspicious commercial real estate (CRE) transactions that may be carried out by sanctioned Russian elites, oligarchs, their family members and entities they use to move their wealth.
FinCEN’s alert noted that the agency “assesses that sanctioned Russian elites and their proxies are likely attempting to exploit several vulnerabilities in the CRE market in order to evade sanctions.”
“Thanks to international pressure and the economic restrictions that more than 30 countries have imposed on Russia for its brutal war against Ukraine, sanctioned Russian elites are increasingly left with fewer options for moving and hiding their ill-gotten wealth,” FinCEN Acting Director Himamauli Das said in a statement.
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