The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has denied a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request from The Title Report to provide a copy of its latest Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that took effect in May.
As previously reported, The Title Report learned that FinCEN issued a new GTO that took effect May 21, 2018. GTOs require U.S. title insurance companies to report beneficial ownership information on legal entities, including shell companies, used to purchase certain luxury residential real estate in designated geographic areas.
The previous GTO order period went from Sept. 22, 2017, to March 20, 2018. Previous areas included in the GTOs were New York, Miami, five counties in California (including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego), Honolulu, Hawaii, and the Texas county that includes San Antonio.
However, FinCEN has not disclosed which geographic areas were included in its latest GTO or whether the mandates continued following their expiration in March. That potentially puts closing agents in the awkward position of participating in transactions subject to GTOs without knowing before closing time.
In denying The Title Report’s FOIA request for a copy of the latest GTO, FinCEN cited an exemption from the federal law based on “the release of which would disclose techniques and/or procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law.”
The Title Report will continue to investigate this latest GTO in the hopes of providing agents across the country information about their responsibilities while conducting real estate transactions. We encourage closing agents who are interested to share their experience with us by emailing [email protected] or calling 330-659-6101, ext. 321.