News
In Clarification, Canada’s Fintrac Says It Won’t Recognize Last-Minute Compliance Improvements
By Brian Monroe
printCanada's financial watchdogs outlined their expectations and priorities Monday, clarifying a policy that previously gave banks a warning one month in advance of pending regulatory examinations. In a document outlining what financial institutions should expect during exams, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (Fintrac) said it "considers the date on its examination notification letter to be the date of the beginning of the compliance examination process." Previously, the agency did not say whether the evaluations began when the letters were dated or when examiners arrived. The amendment is a "big change" for the financial institutions that viewed...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
The election last week of a new Canadian prime minister could translate into a tougher tack on money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial crimes, according to compliance professionals.
Canada's highest court will determine whether attorneys must retain client data for regulatory purposes and whether the nation's financial intelligence unit can retain and share such records following onsite searches.
Canada's top financial intelligence agency intends to work more closely with its counterparts abroad and investigators at home to identify money launderers, according to Gérald Cossette, the group's new director.
Canadian compliance officers at banks and non-bank institutions are bracing themselves for broad changes to their anti-money laundering obligations ahead of the country's next evaluation by an international watchdog group.
Financial institutions in Canada will be required to strengthen their due diligence controls and report all cross-border transactions, under draft rules proposed by the country's Department of Finance Wednesday.
Proposed amendments to Canada's primary anti-money laundering law would require banks and other companies to apply new prescriptive compliance controls in place of the risk-based policies currently used, say industry experts.
Disclosures by Canada's financial regulator of suspected money laundering and other crimes have more than tripled in recent years even as the number of suspicious transaction reports filed annually by banks has fallen.
Since gaining penalty powers nearly three years ago, Canada's financial intelligence unit is shifting its focus from training financial institutions about compliance duties to penalizing those that haven't complied quickly enough.
Former Alavi president sentenced to three months in prison, Nigerian leaders rush to pass new AML legislation and Hong Kong eyes ways to strengthen AML controls, in this week's roundup.
Canada's financial intelligence unit issued its largest monetary penalty to date in a week when U.S. bank regulators called on financial institutions to be more transparent in their cross-border transactions.
Canada took its first step last month into fining financial institutions for anti-money laundering troubles, penalizing two money services business and prompting at least one of the companies to close.