The UAE government has stated that real estate agents will have to warn anti-money laundering authorities about any property sale with cryptocurrency payments.
Context. Considering that companies such as Bybit, Kraken, Binance and Crypto.com, seeking to create new crypto hubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, some developers in the UAE have announced that they will start accepting payments in bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (EeTH).
Now the government is going to take tough measures to ensure that any real estate transactions become known to anti-money laundering authorities if buyers use virtual assets or funds received from virtual assets, even for a small part of the value of the house.
Quote. The new rules will leave "little to no room for manipulation or illegal practices that can negatively affect the working environment, the economy and investments" in real estate and law, UAE Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri said in his address.
Details. The new rules will also require brokers, agents and law firms to submit reports to the Financial Intelligence Unit, which is responsible for tracking dirty money. They will also apply in the case when the buyer of the property is trying to pay in cash more than 55,000 dirhams of the UAE (about $ 15,000). The government has not set any threshold for virtual assets, implying that even the smallest bitcoin transactions will be detected.
Source: Coin Desk
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