by Peter Hardy, Richard Andreano, Jr., Michael Robotti, and Nikki Hatza
On December 6, FinCEN announced that it was issuing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“AMPRM”) to solicit public comment on potential requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) for certain persons involved in real estate transactions to collect, report, and retain information. If finalized, such regulations could affect a whole new set of professionals and one of largest industries in the U.S.—an industry which, heretofore, has not been subject to the requirements of the BSA, with limited exceptions.