Room for Corruption

To curb foreign fraud, banks are required by law to submit a Suspicious Activity Report, or SAR, to the U.S. Treasury in the event of a suspicious transfer or deposit. However, real estate agents are not bound by such requirements.

In 2012, NAR published a series of anti-money laundering guidelines to help agents determine if and when they should submit a voluntary SAR to authorities. But, according to Quartz, in the instance of New York, where several dodgy transactions fit the profile described under NAR guidelines, Realtors rarely file SARs.

Considering the association’s weighty legislative influence, the persistence of fraudulent activity funneled through real estate is troubling, suggesting to some that NAR is making it a point to protect the industry from extensive outside probes. According to Inman News, in the last election cycle, NAR, the largest professional organization in the world, contributed to 400 senators and representatives, or approximately 75 percent of Congress.