AMLA Warns Real Estate Money Laundering Can Add Pressure to EU Housing Prices
The EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority has highlighted the real estate sector as a significant non-financial money laundering risk, warning that illicit investment in property can add demand to housing markets and contribute to price pressures.
AMLA Chair Bruna Szego raised the issue during a joint hearing of the European Parliament’s ECON and LIBE committees on 15 July 2026. The hearing formed part of AMLA’s reporting to Parliament on its institutional development and work to strengthen AML/CFT supervision across the EU.
Real estate is particularly exposed because individual transactions can absorb large amounts of capital and ownership can be structured through companies or other legal arrangements that make the ultimate controller more difficult to identify. That creates risks not only for estate agents, but also for other professionals involved in property transactions.
The issue also connects with AMLA’s current work on harmonising supervision of the non-financial sector. In July, the authority launched a consultation on draft technical standards that would establish a common methodology for supervisors to assess money laundering and terrorist financing risks across businesses including estate agencies, professional services, luxury goods and gambling. The methodology is expected to apply from 31 December 2028.
AMLA’s focus on property shows how anti-money laundering policy is increasingly being linked to wider economic effects. For supervisors and obliged entities, real estate risk is not limited to detecting suspicious transactions; beneficial ownership transparency, source-of-funds scrutiny and effective risk-based supervision remain central to preventing illicit capital from entering property markets.
