Money Laundering Through Property in Jamaica: How Criminal Proceeds Enter the Real Estate Market

• Property is a common vehicle for converting criminal proceeds into apparently legitimate assets.
• Jamaica’s Proceeds of Crime Act creates offences for money laundering and assets from criminal conduct.
• Attorneys and real estate agents must conduct customer due diligence and report suspicious transactions.
• MOCA has authority to investigate and seize property suspected of being proceeds of crime.
• Cash-intensive property transactions or unexplained wealth are key indicators of money laundering risk.

The purchase of real property with criminal proceeds — drug money, proceeds of fraud, or funds from other criminal activity — is among the most established forms of money laundering globally, and Jamaica’s property market is not immune. The mechanics are straightforward: criminal cash is used to purchase a property outright or as a deposit on a mortgage, the property is held for a period, and it is then sold or rented, generating income that is attributable to the legitimate property market rather than to the underlying criminal activity. The Proceeds of Crime Act creates a comprehensive framework of offences targeting money laundering in Jamaica, including the concealment, disguise, conversion, and transfer of criminal property. The Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency has authority to investigate and restrain assets suspected of being proceeds of crime.

Anti-Money-Laundering Obligations for Property Professionals

Attorneys and real estate dealers in Jamaica are designated as “regulated entities” under the Proceeds of Crime Act and its associated regulations. This means they are required to conduct know-your-client due diligence before acting in a property transaction: verifying the identity of their client, understanding the source of the funds being used, and assessing whether the transaction presents a money laundering risk. Where a transaction raises suspicion — for example, because the buyer is paying cash for a high-value property, the source of funds is unclear, or the transaction structure appears designed to avoid documentation — the professional is required to file a suspicious activity report with the Financial Investigations Division. Failure to comply with AML obligations is itself an offence, and the General Legal Council and the Real Estate Board take enforcement action against professionals who fail to meet their statutory duties.

Civil Recovery and Asset Forfeiture

The Proceeds of Crime Act gives the courts broad powers to make civil recovery orders in relation to property that is, or represents, the proceeds of unlawful conduct. These orders can be made even where no person has been convicted of a criminal offence, provided the court is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the property was obtained through unlawful conduct. Property subject to a civil recovery order is forfeited to the Crown and may be sold, with the proceeds applied to public purposes. For property owners who unwittingly acquired property from a person engaged in money laundering, the existence of these powers underlines the importance of due diligence on the source of a seller’s funds and on the history of the property being purchased. Buyers who pay above-market prices without obvious commercial justification, or who are asked to accept cash payments in a property transaction, should treat the situation as a significant warning sign.

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