The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has introduced new Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) reporting requirements for real estate transactions settled with digital assets. The directive stipulates that real estate brokers and law firms are to report all property transactions that involve any amount of digital assets.
The directive was jointly issued by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Ministry of Economy (MoE) in partnership with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The reports are to be made to the FIU and apply to both corporations and individuals.
The rule stipulates that transactions made in cash equal to or above AED 55,000 (about $15,000) and other funds derived from digital assets must also be reported to the government.
In the press release published by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC), the government stated that the rules are targeted at clamping down on money laundering and terrorism financing. UAE Minister of Justice Abdullah Sultan Bin Awwad Al Nuaimi noted that the rule would tackle the “known and emerging risks” in the region.
The head of the FUI, Ali Faisal Ba’Alawi, and the minister of economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri also echoed the same sentiments.
“These new measures will improve the quality of financial intelligence available to the FIU and will be used to trace the suspicious movement of funds or investments as part of our fight against money laundering and terrorism financing,” Ba’Alawi said.
UAE building its status as a digital asset and web 3.0 hub
The rule is coming on the back of an increasing number of real estate firms beginning to accept digital asset payments in the region. One such firm is the luxury property developer DAMAC.
According to a Bloomberg report, the UAE’s digital assets market has also been attracting citizens of sanctioned countries such as Iran and Russia. The UAE’s lack of sanctions on these countries has also put it on the Financial Actions Task Force (FATF) radar.
Meanwhile, the UAE has continued to pursue its goal of becoming a global digital assets hub. The government has established digital assets regulations and set up the Virtual Assets Regulatory Agency (VARA) to enforce the rule.
In a recent move, the Dubai government also announced a “Metaverse Strategy” that it intends to follow to become one of the top 10 metaverse economies in the world and create 40,000 jobs in the virtual space.
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TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
