The German parliament has passed a cash and crypto ban on real estate purchases. Cash or crypto will no longer be permitted when buying real estate, a new law stipulates. Among other things, it is intended to facilitate the enforcement of sanctions. Notaries are to monitor the ban and report violations. A central office for sanction enforcement at the federal level will be created to supervise sanctions and, additionally, to fight financial crime.
The second part of the legislative package, which has now been passed, will create a central office for sanctions enforcement at the federal level, which will initially be attached to Customs but will later be absorbed into the new federal authority for combating financial crime. There are also plans for a whistleblower office and the possibility of installing a special representative in companies to monitor compliance with sanctions.
The cash ban is intended to prevent anonymous transactions in the real estate market, including by Russian oligarchs. Precious metals such as gold and silver, as well as diamonds, may also no longer be used to pay for real estate. Notaries are to monitor the ban and report violations. In addition, the numerous land registers in Germany are to be transferred to the transparency register. Information on the notarization of real estate transactions will be stored in a new database to be set up.
