Real estate not a major player in money-laundering activities

Re: B.C. targeting real estate in dirty money crusade, July 30

It seems no one is willing to challenge the distortions Attorney- General David Eby is presenting to discredit the real estate industry.

His latest campaign is that the real estate industry is somehow culpable for money laundering in real estate transactions. Eby would be setting his sights more accurately and productively if he pursued the major transporters of money into real estate transactions. The only money handled by real estate agents is the deposit — usually less than 10 per cent. Most of the money flows through notary and law offices.

Anything more than $10,000 in deposit has to be reported to Fintrac. The law also requires that Fintrac be alerted to any suspicious transactions. So what are the lawyers doing to meet this requirement? Consider that lawyers are often far more involved in their client’s affairs, far more frequently and with far more substantial amounts of money.

Eby recently wrote about reporting irregularities by the real estate industry to Fintrac.

While the number of firms audited found not to be in compliance was high, few were more than clerical errors or considered significant enough to warrant serious disciplinary measures. So what is the fuss?

Clearly, it is all political. The fact is that the real estate industry is ruled by law and regulation. If these laws and regulations are inadequate, we rely on government to legislate.

So do your job, David Eby.

Doug Bodaly, Nanaimo