As political pressure grows to crack down on Russian oligarchs, U.S.policymakers are training fresh scrutiny on an industry that has long avoided anti-money-laundering rules: real estate.

House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) plans to introduce legislation in the coming weeks to shore up anti-corruption laws related to the industry, according to her staff. And Treasury’s main unit for combating such wrongdoing, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, is working on regulations to cut down on money laundering through property holdings.

“American real estate can’t be a dark repository for oligarch money,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who is leaning on the Treasury unit, known as FinCEN, to craft strict rules, told POLITICO. “We need strong anti-money laundering safeguards for the industry,” he said, adding that there’s growing bipartisan momentum in Congress for the effort.

As the U.S. seeks to squeeze Russian businesses overseas, the loopholes embedded in property transactions illustrate how difficult it will be to chase down Russian money in […]