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FinCEN Issues Final Rule Regarding Access to Beneficial Ownership Information
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on Dec. 21 issued a final rule that establishes the framework for access to and protection of beneficial ownership information (BOI). In addition to many government agencies, the rule provides access to BOI to financial institutions with customer due diligence requirements.
FinCEN Renews and Expands GTO
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on Oct. 20 renewed and once again expanded its Geographic Targeting Order (GTOs) that requires U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in non-financed purchases of residential real estate. The terms of the GTO are effective through April 18, 2024 and now includes counties in Massachusetts, Florida and Texas. In addition, FinCEN's director said the agency plans to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking later this year to address the vulnerability in the U.S. real estate market to money laundering and other illicit activity.
FinCEN Proposes Extending Deadline to File BOI Reports
FinCEN proposed to amend its final BOI Reporting Rule to provide 90 days for reporting companies created or registered in 2024 to file their initial reports, instead of 30 days. The proposed rule would not make any other changes to the final BOI Reporting Rule: reporting companies created or registered before Jan. 1, 2024, would have until Jan. 1, 2025, to file their initial BOI reports with FinCEN, and entities created or registered on or after Jan. 1, 2025, would have 30 days to file their initial BOI reports. FinCEN estimates it will take 70 minutes and $85 dollars to file the initial BOI submission.
CertifID Launches Seller Identity Verification Solution
The new solution is aimed at addressing an alarming increase in seller impersonation scams involving vacant land.
FinCEN Renews and Expands Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders
The expanded geographic coverage of the GTOs now includes Litchfield County in Connecticut and Adams, Arapahoe, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Eagle, Elbert, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, Mesa, Pitkin, Pueblo, and Summit counties in Colorado. The effective period of the GTOs for purchases in these newly added areas begins on May 24, 2023.
Report: Consumers Lose $106K on Average to Wire Fraud
Consumer real estate payments represent the most frequent target of wire fraud in 2022, with cybercriminals targeting buyer cash-to-close payments in particular, according to a report from CertifID.
FinCEN: Most Victims Targeted in Real Estate BEC Scams Involved in Closing Process
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently issued a Financial Trend Analysis on patterns and trends identified in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data relating to business email compromise (BEC) in the real estate sector in 2020 and 2021. The report contains relevant information for the public, particularly individual homebuyers and the multiple entities involved in real estate transactions.
FBI: Reported Cyber Attacks Down but Potential Losses Up in 2022
Cyberattacks and cyber-enabled frauds continue to affect the everyday lives of Americans. According to the FBI’s latest Internet Crime Report, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2022 received 800,944 cyber fraud complaints, which is a 5% decrease from 2021. However, the potential total loss increased from $6.9 billion in 2021 to more than $10.2 billion in 2022.
FinCEN Issues Initial Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Guidance
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on March 24 published its first set of guidance materials to aid the public—and in particular the small business community—in understanding upcoming beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements. The new regulations, which go into effect Jan. 1, 2024, require many corporations, limited liability companies and other entities created in or registered to do business in the United States to report information about their beneficial owners—the persons who ultimately own or control the company—to FinCEN. ALTA submitted a letter in support of the development of the BOI system, but recommended FinCEN broaden the rule to give title insurance companies or its licensed title agents access to help aid compliance with the real estate Geographic Target Orders.
FinCEN Could Propose New Anti-money Laundering Rule During Summit for Democracy
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) could issue its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to address anti-money laundering (AML) threats in the U.S. real estate sector during next week’s Summit for Democracy. During the summit in 2021, FinCEN released its real estate Advance Notice of Public Rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit public comment on a potential rule.
ALTA Urges FinCEN to Give Title Entities Access to Beneficial Ownership Information System
ALTA submitted a letter in support of the development of the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) system being created by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). BOI data is the most costly and difficult piece of information required to be collected under the Geographic Targeting Orders (GTO) because it is not necessary to close the deal and implicates other privacy concerns for the purchaser. ALTA believes that if FinCEN is going to extend the GTOs or replace them with a permanent transaction reporting regime as suggested by FinCEN in an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, then access to the BOI system when it is up and running is critical to the success of any real estate related anti-money laundering rules
FinCEN Warns of Potential Illegal Real Estate Purchases by Sanctioned Russia Elites
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert regarding potential investments in the U.S. commercial real estate (CRE) sector by sanctioned Russian elites, oligarchs, their family members and the entities through which they act.
FinCEN Expects to Propose New Anti-money Laundering Rule This Year
FinCEN intends to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to address money laundering (AML) threats in the U.S. real estate sector in April, the Department of the Treasury indicated on its website.