pakistan 
Pakistan –
On Monday, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)
made it mandatory for all Real Estate (RE) agents to get registered with the FBR under the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act.
The condition has been slapped on all development authorities, housing schemes, cooperative housing authorities and RE agents for registration and transfer of immovable property, who will have to get registered as Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs).
The government has barred all private and public development authorities from engaging with RE agents who are not registered under the AML Act. Moreover, the FBR also announced to spike property valuation rates in 40 major cities of the country.
It is pertinent to mention that the condition to halt business with the unregistered agents is set to come into effect on January 1, 2022, as per a notification issued by the FBR on Monday.
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Moreover, the FBR warned that any violation of this condition would attract penal provisions under the AML/CFT Sanctions Rules 2020 and the AML Act 2010.
The acts mentioned above empower the FBR to cancel and issue licences to RE agents.
The condition will be applied to all RE agents registered or dealing with development authorities, cooperative housing societies, housing authorities, and other housing schemes linked to land development for commercial and residential purposes, construction and purchase/sale or transfer of ownership rights.
It merits mentioning that the government has decided to counter all sorts of property fraud in the country. In a series of tweets a few days back, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he would go to any extent to fight Pakistan’s ‘land mafia’.
On the other hand, the capital administration has set up property verification to counter land-related fraud in Islamabad.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hamza Shafqaat inaugurated the Verification Centre in the DC Office on Wednesday.
