The federal government wants to ban cash transactions when buying real estate.

This should be regulated within the framework of the Sanctions Enforcement Act II, it said on Friday in a paper that the responsible ministries of finance and economy distributed.

This should prevent anonymous transactions in the future.

This should also make it easier to enforce sanctions against Russian oligarchs.

The traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP had planned the measure anyway.

"Notaries should monitor the ban on cash payments and report violations."

According to government circles, the change in the law should take place by the end of the year.

The cabinet should give the green light in mid-October.

A draft bill is currently being coordinated within the government.

fine and imprisonment

The planned law is intended to create a central office for the enforcement of sanctions at federal level.

According to the paper, this will coordinate all authorities in Germany on the subject.

It should first be attached to customs, but later be merged into the new federal agency planned by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner to combat financial crime.

In the next few years, FDP leader Lindner wants to bundle the enforcement of sanctions under one roof with the fight against money laundering, which is largely ineffective in Germany.

Government officials concede that when sanctions are enforced, especially for real estate in the 400 or so land registers, it is often not clear who ultimately benefits from the property.

Above all, nested company structures make it difficult to get an overview.

In the spring, under the impression of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Bundestag passed the first law to improve the enforcement of sanctions.

This should intensify the cooperation between the competent authorities.

It is better for you to get information that is already available elsewhere.

Your responsibilities will also be expanded.

There should also be better ways to identify and secure assets.

Under the threat of fines and up to one year in prison, sanctioned persons should have to disclose their assets.

So far, according to government officials, this has hardly happened.

So far, assets of Russian oligarchs with a volume of 4.8 billion euros have been blocked.

With the Sanctions Enforcement Act II, the government is now hoping for structural improvements.