The regulatory agency for sa国际传媒鈥檚 real estate professionals is launching a mandatory anti-money-laundering course to show real estate agents and strata and property managers how to recognize red flags and what steps they are obligated to take to report suspected cases.
The course will provide 鈥渢he information you need to understand why real estate is attractive to money launderers,鈥� said the course outline on the website of the Real Estate Council of sa国际传媒, the regulatory body of the province鈥檚 26,000 licensed real estate professionals.
Licensees will learn 鈥渉ow to recognize the risk signs and red flags associated with money laundering [and] review your obligations and the steps to take to report suspicious transactions,鈥� the outline said.
The self-paced online course will 鈥渆mpower [real estate professionals] to actively contribute to preventing criminal activity in sa国际传媒 real estate markets鈥� and support them to 鈥渃omply with their federal reporting obligations,鈥� spokesman Warren Mirko said in an emailed statement.
鈥淩eal estate professionals work closely with their clients, so they are well positioned to identify suspicious transactions,鈥� he said.
The announcement of the course requirement comes two months after the provincial government unveiled plans to create a new regulator for British Columbia鈥檚 real estate sector by spring 2021.
A single regulator for the sector was a key recommendation of recent reports aimed at cracking down on money laundering.
The three reports into money laundering since 2018 have revealed billions in proceeds-of-crime, and other questionable sources of income have been laundered for years through the real estate industry, as well as through other luxury purchases and through casinos.
The latest report, by Maureen Maloney in May, estimated up to $5 billion was funnelled through the sa国际传媒 property market in 2018 alone, likely increasing housing prices that year by five per cent.
Retired sa国际传媒 Supreme Court associate chief Justice Austin Cullen is in the middle of a year-long public inquiry to investigate the causes, scope and impact of money laundering in the province.
Registration will open when the course is launched next week and it will be required for licence renewal beginning April 1.
鈥淚t will become part of the mandatory education that real estate professionals must take in order to maintain their licence to practise in sa国际传媒,鈥� said Mirko.
The sa国际传媒 Real Estate Association announced this week a new requirement of 18 hours of professional training every two years for its realtors (who make up 90 per cent of all real estate agents), but there was no reference to money laundering.
