The government doesn’t know who actually owns nearly half of the 100 most expensive houses in Vancouver, due to lax rules surrounding ownership of companies and trusts, says a report from the Canadian arm of Transparency International. “Only in Kenya and a select few U.S. states is it easier to set up an untraceable company than it is in Canada,” said the report, released Friday. “In Canada, more rigorous identity checks are done for individuals getting library cards than for those setting up companies.” Of the 100 most expensive homes that study author Adam Ross looked at, 46 homes — worth a combined $1 billion or more — had unclear ownership. Click for full size

These homes were owned by Canadian and offshore shell companies, trusts and “nominees” — meaning people who appear to be the owners of the home when they aren’t, such as students whose parents bought a home for them. “It’s a getaway car with tinted windows really, and they can stick a chauffeur in there — a nominee — who drives the car but might not even know who the owner is and what they’re using it for,” Ross said, as quoted at the Toronto Star. Ross says there is no way to know which homes are actually owned by nominees, but he assigned that label to homes owned by people whose occupations were listed as “student” or “housewife.” Lax reporting standards have made real estate a target for money laundering, the report said, and causes government to miss out on tax revenue.