Regulators to dig deeper into US luxury property deals

NEW YORK – Federal regulators searching for money laundering schemes are digging deeper into who is behind luxury real estate purchases in certain parts of the U.S.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Tuesday it’s adding wire transfers to the list of all-cash buys it monitors during certain types of high-end deals.

Previous orders on such monitoring covered property purchased using methods such as cashier’s checks or money orders.

Regulators want to unmask the true owners behind shell companies often created to buy luxury properties with cash.

The monitoring will be done on real estate deals in New York City; three Florida counties including Miami; Honolulu; the Texas county that includes San Antonio; and five counties in California, including Los Angeles.