Latest news with #FINTRAC
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bad actors are trying to get their hands on Canada tech to build weapons, FINTRAC warns
Canada's anti-money-laundering authority is warning that the country is a potential target of weapons proliferators including terrorist organizations, which are increasingly seeking out dual-use goods and technologies — those that have both military and civilian purposes — and using cryptocurrencies that conceal financial trails and evade scrutiny from authorities. In a special bulletin, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) said the developments are complicating efforts to enforce counter-proliferation controls, which aim to thwart state and non-state actors who seek to acquire the goods, technologies, resources and knowledge needed to develop chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons and high-yield explosives, including their precursors and delivery systems. An added layer of complexity is growing transfers of 'intangible' technology through the exchange of knowledge, technical data and expertise, often via 'seemingly innocuous means such as academic collaborations, research partnerships, or professional consultancy,' FINTRAC warned, noting that this can be shared across borders and almost instantaneously through the Internet and encrypted communications. The agency said Canadian financial institutions and operators subject to anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist-financing laws need to be on the lookout for such activity because Canada is a draw due to the country's advanced industrial and technological capabilities alongside academic and research institutions and businesses with expertise in high-technology sectors such as nuclear energy, biotechnology and life sciences, aerospace, chemicals and electronics. 'These strengths make Canada and its businesses a potential target for proliferators,' FINTRAC said in the special bulletin, which outlined characteristics of the transactions proliferators are using to procure, transport and receive illicit goods in order to help Canadian companies and individuals recognize and thwart them. 'Disrupting their financing is essential to halting the spread of weapons of mass destruction,' the FINTRAC bulletin said. Part of the report focused on trade finance, where the use of fraudulent, altered or misleading trade documentation can conceal the origin of funds and the end-user of sensitive goods. Common transactional and behavioural characteristics of this activity can include vague descriptions of goods on trade or financial documentation, such as the use of the words 'sample' and 'for business purposes,' the FINTRAC bulletin said. There may also be inconsistencies, such as payments from a third-party that was not identified on the original letter of credit, sometimes located in an intermediary jurisdiction unrelated to that of the importer of exporter. Another type of transaction that should be probed, FINTRAC said, are ones that involve shipments to a country that does not normally import the types of goods being sent, or where shipments are incompatible with the technical level of the country, such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment shipped to a jurisdiction with no electronics industry. The FINTRAC bulletin also highlighted the growing use of crypto to fund proliferation of goods, knowledge or technology used to develop weapons and to evade traditional tools to track to the movement of funds. 'Virtual currencies are both a tool for obtaining funds to support proliferation activities — such as in the case of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's financing of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs through hacking virtual currency exchanges and decentralized finance platforms — and for the movement of funds, allowing proliferation actors such as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran and Russia, to evade the traditional financial system.' A concrete example cited in the bulletin was the 2021 case of a dual Canadian-American citizen who pled guilty to money laundering on behalf of criminal schemes including the theft of funds from North Korean cyberattacks. 'According to court documents, the individual and his co-conspirators used business email compromise schemes, ATM cash-outs and bank cyber-heists to steal money from victims,' with more than US$1.3 million stolen from cyptocurrency wallets, which was subsequently laundered through bank accounts and digital currency. FINTRAC said there are recognizable patterns in attempts to evade proliferation controls and sanctions imposed by the Canadian government, with traits common to money laundering schemes, such as the diversion of shipments of military and dual-use goods and technologies through complex networks of intermediaries and third-parties. The use of front companies and shell companies to conceal the end-use of shipments is also common. 'These intricate networks conceal the true origin and destination of the goods, making it challenging to trace the trade back to sanctioned entities,' the bulletin said. It flagged additional indicators to be on the lookout for, including the involvement of third-party nationals as directors, shareholders and in other prominent ownership structure positions of corporate entities. This can be used to conceal the connection between activities and sanctioned individuals or entities. 'For instance, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has been known to use Chinese nationals for such purposes, effectively masking the true ownership and control of assets to evade international sanctions,' the bulletin said. FINTRAC said Canada's geographic proximity to the United States and its status as that country's largest trading partner adds risk to being targeted by who seek to acquire high-quality Western-made goods and technologies to develop weapons of mass destruction programs. Fentanyl cash laundering linked to online betting Binance appeals $6-million fine imposed by Fintrac 'Canada's positive international reputation may also make it an attractive jurisdiction for proliferators who may wish to use Canadian financial and commercial entities to legitimize proliferation-related financial transactions between other international jurisdictions,' the bulletin said. 'Such actors may use both witting and unwitting third-parties, including Canadian citizens, in their illicit schemes.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CTV News
04-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Vancouver's Canaccord Genuity fined $544K over anti-money-laundering rule violations
The logo for Canaccord Genuity is shown in Toronto on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (The Canadian Press / Staff) A Vancouver-based wealth management company has been fined more than half a million dollars for violations of Canada's anti-money-laundering and terrorism financing regulations. Canaccord Genuity Corp. has paid an administrative monetary penalty of $544,500 to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, better known as FINTRAC, the agency announced Thursday. The penalty stems from four violations of the federal Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its associated regulations, which were discovered during a compliance examination in 2023, FINTRAC said in a news release. The penalty was imposed on May 14 of this year. According to FINTRAC, the company's four violations were: Failure to submit suspicious transaction reports where there were reasonable grounds to suspect that transactions or attempted transactions were related to a money laundering or terrorist activity financing offence. Failure to develop and apply written compliance policies and procedures that are kept up to date; and, in the case of an entity, are approved by a senior officer. Failure to assess and document the risk of a money laundering or terrorist financing offence, taking into consideration prescribed factors. Failure to take the prescribed special measures for high risk. 'The administrative monetary penalty has been paid in full and proceedings have ended,' the FINTRAC release reads. The agency's summary of the penalties goes into more detail about the conduct that led to them, though it does not name any of the Canaccord clients involved. The summary indicates that three suspicious transaction reports – out of 100 case files where such a report was warranted – were not submitted. In one of the cases, Canaccord 'failed to consider the multiple money laundering and terrorist activity financing indicators present,' including 'the use of multiple foreign bank accounts for no apparent reason, common identifiers such as an address being used by multiple clients that appear to be unrelated, and the presence of information that is misleading and vague,' according to FINTRAC. In another case, Canaccord 'received a payment order from a government agency with respect to a high-risk client and was aware of relevant negative media,' and in the third, the company 'discounted crucial money laundering and terrorist activity financing indicators in the course of its periodic reviews, such as relevant negative media articles.' FINTRAC's administrative monetary penalties are intended to encourage compliance, not to punish the entities on which they are imposed. In its 2023-24 reporting year, FINTRAC issued 12 penalties, totalling more than $26 million. Canaccord Genuity describes itself as the world's 'most active mid-market investment bank,' with more than $40 billion in assets under administration and offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, as well as several cities in the U.S., Australia, China, the U.K. and Ireland.
CTV News
30-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
FINTRAC fines B.C. currency exchange nearly $350K for non-compliance with money laundering rules
Federal anti-money-laundering investigators have imposed a hefty fine on a currency exchange business based in Burnaby, B.C. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, better known as FINTRAC, announced the $348,067.50 administrative monetary penalty against Crystal Currency Exchange Inc. on Thursday. The penalty, which was imposed on March 5, stems from nine instances of non-compliance with Part 1 of the federal Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its associated regulations, according to FINTRAC. The currency exchange has launched an appeal of the penalties in Federal Court. According to FINTRAC, Crystal Currency Exchange's violations included: Failure to submit suspicious transaction reports where there were reasonable grounds to suspect that transactions were related to a money laundering or terrorist activity financing offence; Failure to report large cash transactions of $10,000 or more in cash in a single transaction; Failure to submit outgoing electronic funds transfer reports of $10,000 or more in the course of a single transaction, together with prescribed information; Failure to submit incoming electronic funds transfer reports of $10,000 or more in the course of a single transaction, together with prescribed information; Failure to appoint a compliance officer; Failure to develop and apply written compliance policies and procedures that are kept up to date; Failure to assess and document the risk of a money laundering or terrorist financing offence; Failure to develop and maintain a training program; and Failure to institute and document the prescribed review. A more detailed summary of the non-compliance is listed on the FINTRAC website. It indicates that investigators found three instances of unreported suspicious transactions, each involving a client about whom Crystal Currency Exchange had previously submitted a suspicious transaction report. The regulator's summary also notes that it had informed the business of 'deficiencies in its compliance program' during previous examinations in 2015 and 2017. Despite this, 'FINTRAC did not observe any improvement in Crystal Currency Exchange Inc.'s compliance program' when investigators returned in 2022. 'Canada's anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist-financing regime is in place to protect the safety of Canadians and the security of Canada's economy,' said Sarah Paquet, FINTRAC's director and CEO, in the news release announcing the penalties. 'FINTRAC works with businesses to help them understand and comply with their obligations under the act. We are also firm in ensuring that businesses continue to do their part and we will take appropriate actions when they are needed.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Canadian Banks and Regulators to Meet in Toronto Amid Shifting Economic and Regulatory Landscape
TORONTO, May 15, 2025 /CNW/ - Senior executives from Canada's major banks and financial institutions will join government regulators in Toronto next month to address fast-moving regulatory and economic changes at the 24th Annual Canadian Forum on Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime, hosted by the Canadian Institute. Taking place June 25–26, 2025, at the One King West Hotel, the forum comes at a pivotal moment for the financial sector. Escalating U.S. tariffs and changes to the U.S. Corporate Transparency Act are intensifying cross-border compliance challenges for Canadian institutions. In a March 2025 statement, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) confirmed that foreign entities qualifying as "reporting companies" must submit Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) under newly mandated deadlines. Canadian institutions will need to respond quickly to comply with evolving standards. "There's a lot changing," said Karen Creen, conference co-chair and Chief Compliance Officer & Chief AML Officer at First Nations Bank of Canada. "We've moved into Gen 2 reporting with FINTRAC. We have the FATF mutual evaluation coming. There's the new reporting of sanctioned property that's going to FINTRAC. There's a lot of moving pieces, as always in AML." Notable speakers at the forum include: Tina Matos, Chief Compliance Officer and Deputy Director of Supervision, FINTRAC Gabriel Ngo, Director, Independent Review Office, Bank of Canada Key Topics Include: Lessons from U.S. regulatory actions against Canadian banks Economic and compliance fallout from the U.S. election Real estate and crypto sector exposure FATF evaluation preparation and cross-border BOI reporting More information and registration details are available at: SOURCE The Canadian Institute View original content: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Cision Canada
15-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Canadian Banks and Regulators to Meet in Toronto Amid Shifting Economic and Regulatory Landscape
TORONTO, May 15, 2025 /CNW/ - Senior executives from Canada's major banks and financial institutions will join government regulators in Toronto next month to address fast-moving regulatory and economic changes at the 24th Annual Canadian Forum on Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime, hosted by the Canadian Institute. Taking place June 25–26, 2025, at the One King West Hotel, the forum comes at a pivotal moment for the financial sector. Escalating U.S. tariffs and changes to the U.S. Corporate Transparency Act are intensifying cross-border compliance challenges for Canadian institutions. In a March 2025 statement, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) confirmed that foreign entities qualifying as "reporting companies" must submit Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) under newly mandated deadlines. Canadian institutions will need to respond quickly to comply with evolving standards. "There's a lot changing," said Karen Creen, conference co-chair and Chief Compliance Officer & Chief AML Officer at First Nations Bank of Canada. "We've moved into Gen 2 reporting with FINTRAC. We have the FATF mutual evaluation coming. There's the new reporting of sanctioned property that's going to FINTRAC. There's a lot of moving pieces, as always in AML." Notable speakers at the forum include: Key Topics Include:
