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The Fraser Valley Real Estate board (FVREB) has warned managing brokers that offshore investors have apparently been asking realtors to complete illegal transactions that would break money-laundering and tax-evasion laws.

A May 18 memo titled “Important notice” was sent out to hundreds of broker-managers who were told to distribute it to realtor employees.

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The notice, obtained by Postmedia News, comes as foreign investment increases in a hot Fraser Valley market, board president Gopal Sahota said in an interview Wednesday. Meanwhile, Fraser Valley realtors are apparently already under a compliance audit from Fintrac, Canada’s anti-money-laundering authority.

“It has come to our attention that overseas clients may be asking realtors to allow money to be transferred to their personal accounts, so that the realtors can arrange a bank draft to give to the sellers/developers for their purchase,” the May 18 notice states. “It’s important everyone understands that this violates federal income-tax laws, Fintrac laws and the Real Estate Services Act. It is extremely important to ensure that any exchange of funds is legitimate, legal and ethical before members agree to participate. The risks of such actions can be very high and costly (Real Estate Council of B.C. fines of up to $250,000 or more.)”