What do the Iranian government, a fugitive international jeweler, and a disgraced Harvard University fencing coach have in common? They have all used U.S. real estate to launder their ill-gotten gains. In “Acres of Money Laundering: Why U.S. Real Estate is a Kleptocrat’s Dream,” Global Financial Integrity (GFI) dives into the murky world of global money laundering and demonstrates the ease with which kleptocrats, criminals, sanctions evaders, and corrupt government officials choose the U.S. real estate market as their preferred destination to hide and launder proceeds from illicit activities.

The panel will feature a discussion of the key findings of the report, a discussion of case studies, the shortcomings of the current U.S regulatory approach, and proposed recommendations. Additionally, the panel will bring together expertise from within the U.S. Government, the private sector, and investigative journalism to discuss the challenges of compliance, investigation, and enforcement, and what is additionally needed to reduce the risk of U.S. real estate continuing to be a safe haven for ill-gotten wealth.