More Sunlight on Monaco’s Real Estate
Leaked emails highlight increased pressure on money laundering controls.
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Bonjour et Bienvenue to the Paris Edition. I’m Bloomberg Opinion columnist Lionel Laurent. If you haven’t yet, subscribe now to the Paris Edition newsletter.
Luxury real estate has long been a magnet for the uber-wealthy – and the uber-shady. Part pied-a-terre, part safety deposit box, the money-laundering risks posed by the sector are regularly flagged by financial-crime detectives and anti-corruption campaigners calling for tougher sanctions and less opacity. And the French Riviera has long been an area of interest: In 2024, the principality of Monaco was put on an international “gray list” for not doing enough to tackle illicit money flows. It’s since been deemed to have made “progress” but there’s still more to do.