In a broad show of support for increased scrutiny of foreign real estate buyers in the United States, 17 nonprofit organizations on Tuesday urged the Treasury Department to require that the real estate industry verify the identities of buyers and screen them for potential money-laundering risk.

The request, contained in a letter sent to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, asked for the repeal of a 2002 temporary exemption from provisions of the Patriot Act that had been granted to the real estate industry.

As signed into law in 2001, the Patriot Act would have required real estate brokers and others involved in real estate closings and settlements to conduct due diligence checks on their customers. After heavy lobbying by the industry, the industry was exempted from the final regulations.

The letter, signed by a coalition of 17 diverse groups including Transparency International, Global Integrity and Global Witness, cited a recent series in The New York Times, Towers of Secrecy, which documented how wealthy international buyers, including politicians and those who have been the targets of government inquiries, had used shell companies to purchase luxury New York condos.