Because we’ve been asked a time or two what’s new in AML & digital currency in Canada…
The following are a compilation of FINTRAC’s policy positions in relation to digital currency. This document is current as of July 25, 2017.
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Because we’ve been asked a time or two what’s new in AML & digital currency in Canada…
The following are a compilation of FINTRAC’s policy positions in relation to digital currency. This document is current as of July 25, 2017.
FINTRAC has recently published their reorganized guidelines and one notable change to Guideline 1, in particular, is the change to the CSIS Financing Unit unclassified fax.
Policies related to Terrorist Property Reports (TPRs) should be updated to reflect this change.
Greetings fellow compliance geeks!
As you may know, Canada’s latest budget bill contains a number of amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA). We’ve created a marked up version of the PCMLTFA to help you work through and understand the changes, and you can access it using the link below with this caveat: you are welcome to use and share this markup, but you may not charge money for access to it. Information should be free.
Under Canadian federal legislation, a money services business (MSB), in Canada, is a person or entity engaged in the business of any of the following activities:
Foreign exchange dealing;It has been a requirement for some time that money services businesses (MSBs) operating in Quebec become licensed with the Authorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF). We have recently learned that the AMF has begun to examine MSBs that are licensed, but do not have a physical presence in Quebec. Our colleague Michael Garellek of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP has issued a useful practice note (below) with useful tips.
Quick OverviewA little over a month ago, FINTRAC published an operational brief for the Canadian real estate industry. The brief was intended to assist reporting entities in meeting the obligations to report suspicious transactions or attempted suspicious transactions that related to potential money laundering or terrorist financing. The publication provided some common indicators that may be present in a transaction that suggest money laundering or terrorist financing could be involved.
On November 14th, 2016 FINTRAC released a brief for all reporting entities who may be involved in real estate transactions. The briefing is intended as guidance to provide some examples of indicators that may be present in transactions that may suggest they are linked to money laundering or terrorist financing. The indicators described have been taken from transactions suspected of being related to money laundering or terrorist financing reported internationally. The briefing focuses on the potential risks and vulnerabilities within the real estate industry and provides suggestions on how to ensure reporting entities are sufficiently meeting suspicious transaction reporting obligations.
There were no updates released from OSFI this week.
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Branch, The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), released four updates last week. One update was related to the publication of Cuba-related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), covering some of the recent changes made to the sanctions that had previously been placed on Cuba. Other updates included the removal of 12 individuals from the Counter Terrorism Designations List, the issuance of a Finding of Violation and the publication of Iran General License J.
On July 18th and 22nd, 2016, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC’s) Al’Qaida and Taliban regulations updates to the sanctions list, deleting one individual and amending another.