Real Estate & Property

AML compliance for
property transactions

Estate agents, conveyancers, and property developers face mandatory AML obligations under UK MLR 2017, 5AMLD, and FATF Recommendation 22. KYC Genie verifies buyers, checks source of funds, and uncovers beneficial ownership — all before exchange.

MLR 2017 5AMLD Art. 2 FATF R.22 FinCEN GTO
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Regulatory obligations

The rules property businesses must follow

Real estate is consistently identified by FATF as a high-risk vector for money laundering. Here's what regulators require — and how KYC Genie keeps you covered.

UK
MLR 2017 & 5AMLD
The UK Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require estate agents and conveyancers to verify buyer and seller identity before acting. The 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive extended this to letting agents for high-value rentals. HMRC supervises compliance and can issue unlimited penalties.
Buyer CDD Source of funds HMRC supervised
FATF
Recommendation 22
FATF R.22 applies CDD obligations to Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, explicitly including real estate agents when transacting above €15,000. Agents must identify beneficial owners of purchasing entities and verify source of funds for all transactions.
DNFBP obligations UBO verification Threshold checks
US
FinCEN Geographic Targeting Orders
FinCEN GTOs require all-cash real estate purchases above set thresholds in targeted US markets to collect and report beneficial ownership of purchasing legal entities. Failure to comply exposes title companies and agents to criminal liability and civil penalties.
All-cash reporting Beneficial ownership Shell company checks
How KYC Genie solves it

Property compliance without the paper chase

From buyer identity verification to source of funds checks and corporate ownership unravelling — all in one platform your compliance team can rely on.

Buyer & Seller Verification

Verify every party before exchange

Biometric identity checks with government document authentication — completed remotely in under 60 seconds. No more chasing photocopies. A timestamped compliance record is automatically created for every verified party.

  • Biometric liveness + government ID matching
  • Proof-of-address extraction and validation
  • AML screening against 1,500+ global watchlists
  • Automatic audit trail per transaction
Identity Verification product
KYC Check — P. CHAKRABORTY
DOB 1978-11-05 · GBR · Buyer
liveness_checkPASS
document_authPASS
face_match97.8%
sanctionsNo match
pep_checkClear
Identity Verified
confidence: 99.2% · 44s elapsed
Source of Funds — P. CHAKRABORTY
property_ref: PROP-22841 · GBP
Transaction value
£ 485,000
Verifying…
salary_income£72,000 p.a.Verified
savings_balance£210,000Verified
property_equity£203,000Verified
Funds Verified · £485,000 cleared
sources_documented: 3 · no_gaps_identified
Source of Funds

Document and verify where the money comes from

MLR 2017 and FATF R.22 require you to understand and verify the source of funds in any property transaction. KYC Genie structures the collection of salary evidence, savings, equity, and other sources with a clear audit trail for every transaction.

  • Structured source-of-funds questionnaire per transaction
  • Document upload and extraction — payslips, bank statements
  • AI highlights gaps in the funds trail automatically
  • Full evidential record for HMRC inspections
Questionnaires product
Corporate Buyers & Beneficial Ownership

Look through company structures to real owners

When a vehicle, SPV, or overseas company is purchasing property, you must identify the ultimate beneficial owners. KYC Genie searches company registries in 220+ jurisdictions, verifies directors and UBOs, and screens every individual against global watchlists.

  • Automated company registry lookup across 220+ jurisdictions
  • Director and UBO identification with verification
  • Sanctions and PEP screening of all UBOs
  • Full corporate ownership tree in a single report
Company Search product
KYB — RIVERSIDE DEVELOPMENTS LTD
co_no: 08847123 · GBR
company_statusActive
directors_verified2 / 2
ubo_m_fitzgerald55% · No PEP
sanctions_checkNo match
adverse_mediaClear
KYB Approved — All UBOs verified
no_pep_exposure · sanctions_clear
How it works

From instruction to compliant in four steps

A property transaction AML workflow that meets MLR 2017 obligations without adding days to your conveyancing timeline.

01
Verify Parties
Remote biometric identity checks for all buyers and sellers — completed in under a minute, no paper copies required.
02
Source of Funds
Structured questionnaire guides the buyer through documenting every source of funds. AI flags any unexplained gaps automatically.
03
Ownership Check
If a company is purchasing, automated registry lookups identify all directors and UBOs with full sanctions and PEP screening.
04
Compliance File
A complete, timestamped compliance record is generated automatically — ready for HMRC inspections or internal audit at any time.
< 60s
Remote identity verification
0+
AML watchlists screened
0+
Corporate registry jurisdictions
0+
Document types accepted
Built for Real Estate & Property

Ready to eliminate the paper chase from your AML process?

Talk to KYC Genie about identity verification, source of funds checks, and beneficial ownership for property transactions.

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