Belgium Real Estate
US Diplomatic Mission to Ghana: Attorneys in Ghana
Twenty years of practice with specialization in corporate, investment, commercial, criminal, property and real estate, narcotics cases, estate cases, trade disputes and collection cases. ... Other areas of expertise include corporate, investment and commercial law; mining, property and real estate; construction, building and engineering contracts, dispute and arbitration; nationality, citizenship and private international law. Advice and assistance for investment and trade with Ghana, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire. ... [Read More]
(F) Europe Overview
Six proindependence Corsican groups joined in proclaiming a cease-fire in late 1999, but bomb attacks against government offices on the island continued intermittently in 2000. One such Corsican group claimed responsibility for a failed attack in Paris in June. In October, Corsican separatists placed a car bomb in front of the police station in Marseilles. The device was not built to detonate but to serve as a warning for a possible future attack and to highlight the group's capabilities. Also in October, French courts sentenced 10 Corsican nationalists to four years' imprisonment for an attack that damaged an estate complex on Corsica in 1994. ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: Financial Body Revises Anti-Money Laundering Recommendations
The recommendations include more monitoring of high risk bank customers and transactions, extending anti-money laundering measures to non-financial businesses and professions such as casinos, real estate agents, dealers of precious stones and metals, accountants, lawyers, notaries and trust company providers, and improving transparency requirements, according to a June 20 OECD press release. ... -- the extension of anti-money laundering measures to designated non-financial businesses and professions (casinos; real estate agents; dealers of precious metals/stones; accountants; lawyers, notaries and independent legal professions; trust and company service providers); ... [Read More]
Economic Development, Agriculture, and Sustainability
The Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto estimates that in developing countries, three quarters of all real estate parcels lack formal title. The absence of clear title cuts off access to finance for poor families who want to own a home, for small farmers who want to improve their land and for entrepreneurs who want to start a business. ... In talking about aid levels, it is important to aim for the goal line, not for a headline. The goal line is results: reduced poverty, universal basic education, reduced infant mortality, a cleaner environment and the elimination of hunger. If we can show that we are effectively using all of the resources available for development and we are making real progress towards these development goals, we will have far more credibility in making the case for increased development assistance to legislators and citizens. ... [Read More]
Cyprus (07/05)
Services and tourism (76.2% of GDP): Trade, restaurants, and hotels 20.4%; transport 10.9%; finance, real estate, and business 23.8%; government, education, and health 16.1%; and community and other services 4.9%. ... Work force: Government-controlled area (2004), 333,100: agriculture and mining--5.3%; manufacturing and utilities--12.0%; construction--10.7%; trade, hotels, and restaurants--27.1%; transport--5.3%; finance, real estate, and business--11.9%; government, education, and health--18.4%; community and other services--9.3%. Turkish Cypriot-administered area (2003), 95,000: agriculture--14.5%; manufacturing and utilities--9.3%; construction--19.7%; trade, and tourism--11.2%; transport and communication--8.7%; finance--2.5%; business and personal services--15.3%; public services--18.8%. ... [Read More]
M) Money Laundering and Financial Crimes
Iran’s real estate market is widely used as an alternative remittance system. For example, real estate transactions take place in Iran, but no funds change hands there; rather, payment is made overseas. This typically is done because of the difficulty in transferring funds out of Iran and the weakness of Iran’s currency, the rial. The real estate market, in at least one instance, has been used to launder narcotics-related funds. ... Member states shall ensure that the obligations laid down in this Directive are imposed on the following institutions: credit institutions (as defined previously); financial institutions (as defined previously); and on the following legal or natural persons acting in the exercise of their professional activities: auditors, external accountants and tax advisors; real estate agents notaries and other independent legal professionals, when they participate, whether: (a) by assisting in the planning or execution of transactions for their client concerning the (i) buying and selling of real property or business entities; (ii) managing of client money, securities or other assets; (iii) opening or management of bank, savings or securities accounts; (iv) organization of contributions necessary for the creation, operation or management of companies (v) creation, operation or management of trusts, companies or similar structures; (b) or by acting on behalf of and for their client in any financial ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: State's Larson on Sustainable Development
The poor can make lasting gains only when they can save safely and invest profitably in the future. Even more than the relatively well off, the poor need legal systems that confer reliable, enforceable title to land and other assets. The Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto estimates that in developing countries, three quarters of all real estate parcels lack formal title. The absence of clear title cuts off access to finance for poor families who want to own a home, for small farmers who want to improve their land and for entrepreneurs who want to start a business. ... [Read More]
Austria
The Austrian legal system protects secured interests in property, both movable and real. Mortgages are recognized, if they are registered in the land register and the underlying contracts are valid. The law recognizes mortgages, if they are registered in the land register and the underlying contracts are valid. The land register provides a reliable system for recording interests in property. For any real estate agreement to be effective, the agreement must be entered with the land register. This requires approval of the land transfer commission or the office of the provincial governor. Any interested party has access to the land register. ... [Read More]
Money Laundering and Financial Crimes
Iran's real estate market is widely used as an alternative remittance system. For example, real estate transactions take place in Iran, but no funds change hands there; rather, payment is made overseas. This typically is done because of the difficulty in transferring funds out of Iran and the weakness of Iran's currency, the rial. The real estate market, in at least one instance, has been used to launder narcotics-related funds. ... Macau's free port, offshore financial services, lack of foreign exchange controls, disaggregated law enforcement agencies, problematic (albeit improving) law and order situation, and nascent anticorruption efforts create an environment conducive to money laundering. Macau serves as a gateway to China, and can be used as a transit point to remit funds and criminal proceeds to and from China, Hong Kong, and other Asian countries. Organized crime groups based in Macau are believed to launder their proceeds through joint ventures and real estate purchases in China, or through cross border cash transfers, front companies, real estate purchases, currency exchanges, and alternative remittance systems. Gaming and related services play a critical role in the Macau economy. They account for approximately 40 percent of GDP. Direct taxes from gambling accounted for 43 percent of government revenue in 1999. Organized crime groups are associated with the gambling industry through such activities as ... [Read More]
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