Analysis of cases from the past two decades reveals at least $2.6 billion in suspicious or illicit funds invested in U.S. commercial real estate, often involving politically exposed persons or Russian oligarchs.
ABOUT US
The Anti-Corruption Data Collective brings together leading journalists, data analysts, academics and policy advocates to expose and undermine corruption.
Find out moreLATEST ARTICLES
Reports
Money Laundering Risks in Commercial Real Estate
Analysis of cases from the past two decades reveals at least $2.6 billion in suspicious or illicit funds invested in U.S. commercial real estate, often involving politically exposed persons or Russian oligarchs.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Money laundering risks in private investment funds
Trillions of dollars are invested worldwide in private investment funds (PIFs), which include hedge funds, private equity, venture capital and other pooled vehicles. Yet in most countries, and in the US in particular, these funds are subject to even weaker anti-money laundering checks than other types of legal entities, including shell companies.
Read More
Real estate markets open to criminals and the corrupt
Real estate offers kleptocrats and other criminals an easy, opaque asset class to launder their ill-gotten gains. Moreover, when real estate is used as a safe haven for the proceeds from criminal activity, access to housing is reduced and ordinary residents struggle to afford properties for their family or business.
Read More
Kleptocrats gaining influence through philanthropy
Charitable donations can be an instrument for promoting foreign oligarchs' own political agendas, facilitating access to decision-makers, polishing tarnished reputations and helping push back against scrutiny and negative publicity.
Read More
Misuse of federal COVID-19 relief funds
Insufficient guardrails on trillions of dollars in federal stimulus spending to support workers and small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic have allowed long-term issues in American politics to precipitate a short-term crisis.
Read MoreAS SEEN IN
