BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority (ORERA) has asked the real estate agents in the state to be aware of potential red flags regarding money laundering and terrorist financing in real estate transactions.
It further asked the real estate agents to refrain from entering into any transaction with any person whose identity matches with individuals, groups and associations linked with ISIL (Da’esh) and Al Qaida, listed time to time by the Security Council Committee at the Centre.
The agents have also been asked to immediately report to the regulator and director of Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) in case they come across any such person. “The advisory has come from the Centre to all the real estate agents to make them aware about these potential risks,” ORERA secretary Manashi Mandhata said.
Sources said real estate agents in the country are subject to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and considered ‘reporting entities’, meaning they have obligations to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.