kthx

A friend of mine who is visiting me with my dad in couple weeks is asking me if he can wire money to my account to buy a used car here if he gets a good deal.

We are talking 30-40k here.

My question is: is that okay for me to receive that money? I am permanent resident. Do I need to pay taxes on it? Do I need to fill out any forms? Could this trigger an audit?

It is weird, because it is not money for me, as I would just use it to buy a car here which won't be even registered in the US and be exported right away.

avanutria

I wouldn't do it if it were me. If he's got 30k to drop on a "used" car he can go to his bank and work out a way to provide payment overseas during his trip.

meauxna

+1. He can wire the money to the car seller directly, for one.

kthx

As far as trusting him: I absolutely trust him (in fact he trusts me more since he would send me the money).

He could wire it to the seller? He would be here... he is visiting with my dad. I was trying to google to see what implications this has and can't find anything useful..

kthx

Well, he was thinking about buying 1-2 years old luxury vehicle, not toyota corolla

sir_eccles

I assume the friend has an import agent and shipper waiting to deal with all the paperwork involved in importing a car to the UK?

kthx

It is Russia. I did it once for my dad (except I sent 2 cars). We used a company for that. It is going to be a nuisance but I can't say no. Although I want everything to be legal as far as money transfer.

sir_eccles

Russia? Yeah that's probably going to ring all sorts of alarm bells. I'd keep well away.

Bill_S

Other than the fact that he is your friend, what has this transaction got to do with you? It's a deal between your friend (buyer) and whoever has the car (seller). Let them work it out. There's no reason your bank account has to be involved.

ian-mstm

Of course you can say no. Your bank will (or should) automatically inform the Treasury Department that a $10,000+ deposit was made to your account. They may investigate it as part of the RICO laws on money laundering... especially 1) since it's from Russia; 2) it's not from a relative; 3) it isn't an inheritance; and 4) the money is earmarked for an automobile purchase - which is exactly the sort of thing that money launderers do!

I don't want to alarm you, but you could very quickly find yourself involved in a federal investigation as part of a conspiracy under RICO. If the guy is your friend that doesn't make things better for you... it makes them worse.

Ian

BMP

wait up a moment. are we implying that everything that moves in and out of russia is illegal - that simply isn't the case. maybe you need to watch season 2 of the wire

kthx has explicity stated he trusts his friend - the purchaser and willing to take risk on behalf of his friend - questioning this risk is not the job of the forum.

yes alarm bells maybe rung, but if the friend is honest there is nothing to worry about. all this talk about transferring money direct to the seller is silly - he probably doesn't know which company he is going to buy it off, i like to test drive my cars, most people do. one would like to think that you could easily transfer money in a day to a seller - but i know from personal experience it took me 3 weeks to setup a transfer through Barlcays to a major bank in the US, and yes it probably could be done quicker - but in one day to buy a car?? really?

apologies for rant!

BMP

"its exactly the job of the forum" - i can hear it now...

i think what people are trying to say is by default you will be under suspision - so you better be 100% sure you prove the money is clean - make sure you can provide this documentation to grease the beaurecratic machine.

cranston

or they may investigate under the Patriot Act

kthx

Wowsie, didn't know it could be such a big deal...

As far as trusting the guy: there is no question I trust him: he would transfer the money to me strictly to buy the vehicle (IF he finds a good deal during his stay here). I would be the one purchasing it for him and putting his name in export license.

What I wanted to know is whether it would set some alarms and secondly whether I am actually legally obligated to report it anywhere at all. Maybe I will call my bank to ask them.

I trust him 100% and I just don't want to say NO if I don't have to because he was extremely hospitable to me during my visit of my home country and has been my dad's best friend for decades.

Maybe some kinda cashier's check could be an option. I really appreciate your guys' feedback As for providing papers on how he got the money: lol, I'd have no clue even on where to start. If there is a possibility of this then I'd pass, of course.

sir_eccles

In the same way, wire transfers to Nigeria raise eyebrows. From what I have read, banks will now routinely not allow you to do wire transfers to Nigeria even if they are legit.

The OPs original post was in a sense coming to this forum and asking us to question the risk.
Our answer was yes, it will probably trigger an audit but not necessarily by the IRS alone.