Source of funds: what the broker and the notaría ask for, and why

Foreign buyers usually discover anti-money-laundering due diligence once the promesa is signed and a closing date is looming. The real estate sector and the notariado are required to request that documentation, and it is not a courtesy anyone can skip.

Anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing obligations reach the broker, the trust company, the bank and the notaría, and each applies its own due diligence regime, reportable to the UIAF. In practice that means the same buyer will explain the origin of their money more than once, to different institutions, under criteria that are not identical. When documentation arrives late, incomplete or in a language with no translation, what stops is not a form: it is the signing. And since funds generally arrive through the formal exchange channel, the trail between what was declared and what was actually transferred has to stand on its own.

Cartagena is administered as a district rather than an ordinary municipality, and that determines whom you ask for what: the certificado de tradición y libertad, the registry history and encumbrance certificate, comes from the Oficina de Registro de Instrumentos Públicos, the public deeds registry; parcel identification from the cadastre; land-use certificates and building permits from the District and the curadurías urbanas, the private licensing offices; environmental matters from Cardique; anything touching the sea from DIMAR, the maritime authority; while the deed is executed before a notary and the registration tax is paid to the Gobernación de Bolívar, the department government. These are separate bodies with separate procedures, and a seller who folds them all into one office is simplifying. For a buyer abroad the practical consequence is that the file is assembled remotely and in pieces, with powers of attorney worth preparing before any purchase promise is signed, and that the city holds land realities that share no single procedure: the walled historic center under its protection regime, the built-out peninsula, and the northern shoreline still taking shape. So settle early on which authority answers which question, and request each document from its own source.

What is specific to Cartagena

What to verify, step by step

1. Ask the broker and the notaría separately, and before the promesa, what identity and source-of-funds documentation each requires and in what format.
2. Assemble the documents supporting where the money came from in your case: sale of another asset, company profits, inheritance, savings with filings behind them. Ask each institution what evidence it accepts.
3. Find out whether official translation or apostille will be required for documents issued outside Colombia, and check the applicable requirement with the Cancillería.
4. If buying through a company, prepare the ownership chain up to the ultimate beneficial owner, because that is the first thing asked.
5. Confirm with the Banco de la República and with your own bank which channel the transfer uses, so the money's route matches what was declared.
6. Ask who receives the documentation and how it is safeguarded, since it will circulate among several institutions.

Mistakes that cost money

• Taking the request as personal distrust. It is a sector obligation, and arguing about it costs you the closing date.
• Handing the documents over just before signing. Each institution's review takes its own time and none of them speeds up for a notary appointment.
• Moving the money by a route other than the one declared. Inconsistency between the evidence and the transfer is precisely what gets reviewed.

Frequently asked questions

Why am I asked for the same thing three times?

Because the broker, the trust company or bank, and the notaría each carry their own due diligence duty. Nobody can delegate someone else's obligation.

What counts as evidence of source of funds?

It depends on the case and on the institution. Rather than guessing, ask each one for the list of documents it accepts and in what form.

Can they refuse to proceed?

Yes. Obliged institutions may decline where due diligence does not satisfy them, and they are not required to explain their internal criteria.

Is this connected to taxes?

It is a separate front. The UIAF and DIAN are after different things, and satisfying one does not resolve the other. Ask about them separately.

Where to check it

• UIAF — the anti-money-laundering obligations that apply to the real estate sector
• Banco de la República — registration of foreign investment and the official exchange rate
• Cancillería de Colombia — current visa requirements and the apostille of foreign documents
• DIAN — the tax ID, withholding on sale and the capital gains tax
• Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro — the certificate of title and encumbrances, which is the property's full history
• Cartagena de Indias — the rules of the municipality Cartagena belongs to

Official bodies. Specific figures are requested there, not copied from a listing.

Updated 2026-11-05