An initial report into the island’s estate agents has revealed there were £532,848,641 worth of transactions in 2023.
The Isle of Man Financial Services Authority is carrying out a thematic review relating to estate agents, which employ a total 121 people.
Information was gathered via a questionnaire issued earlier this year to all 20 businesses registered under the Designated Businesses (Registration and Oversight) Act 2015 to carry out estate agent activities in the island.
The FSA said: “The thematic review will enable the authority to gain a better understanding of the policies, procedures and controls put in place by estate agents to assess their business and customer risks and to detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.”
Results
The report makes several comments and recommendations, including that estate agents “should place more focus on understanding
the purpose of the occasional transaction and the source of funds for both the sellers and buyers”.
It also explores issues around risk management, remote transactions and steps that should be taken to ensure best practice across the industry.
Tristan Caley, Senior Manager, AML/CFT Supervision, said: “The report is an important part of the Authority’s engagement and outreach to share further insight into the Isle of Man’s estate agency sector through the data collected as part of the phase one questionnaire.
“This thematic project will inform our AML/CFT/CPF guidance and the National Risk Assessment, with work currently underway.
“We look forward to the sector’s continued collaboration as we move to phase two, where we will seek to corroborate our understanding of the ML/FT/PF risks and the level of compliance with the relevant legislation within the estate agency sector.”
You can read the report here.
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