FINTRAC publishes its 2020–21 Annual Report, Safe Canadians, Secure Economy
From: Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)
News release
February 18, 2022 – Ottawa – Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland tabled in Parliament the 2020–21 Annual Report of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). The report highlights key activities and operations that FINTRAC carried out in 2020–21 to help protect Canadians and Canada's economy.
With the information it receives from Canadian businesses, FINTRAC generated 2,046 unique disclosures of actionable financial intelligence for Canada's police, law enforcement and national security agencies in 2020–21. A disclosure can pertain to an individual or a wider criminal network. This intelligence contributed to over 376 major, resource intensive investigations across Canada as well as hundreds of individual investigations throughout the country. FINTRAC's financial intelligence also played a key role in advancing Canada's innovative public-private partnerships aimed at combatting money laundering associated with online child sexual exploitation, human trafficking in the sex trade, romance fraud, the illicit trafficking of fentanyl, and money laundering schemes that have their roots in underground banking.
In 2020–21, FINTRAC also worked closely with businesses to ensure compliance with the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and to implement significant new legislative and regulatory changes meant to strengthen Canada's Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime. These changes have created new obligations for dealers in virtual currencies and foreign money services businesses, extended obligations related to beneficial ownership and politically exposed persons to all business sectors, and required businesses to report large virtual currency transactions to the Centre. They also helped Canada obtain several important upgrades in its latest Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Follow-up Report.
Quote
"FINTRAC quickly and effectively mobilized and reoriented its operations at the beginning of the global pandemic to ensure that we were able to deliver on our critical financial intelligence and compliance mandates, while keeping our people and workplace safe. While working in a pandemic environment, we generated roughly the same number of financial disclosures that we have in previous years, adding to the more than 21,000 financial intelligence disclosures that FINTRAC has provided to Canada's police, law enforcement and national security agencies since becoming operational in 2001. We also worked closely with Canadian businesses to implement significant new legislative and regulatory changes that have strengthened Canada's broader Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime."
Quick Facts
- In 2020–21, FINTRAC generated 2,046 disclosures of actionable financial intelligence for Canada's police, law enforcement and national security agencies.
- Since becoming operational in 2001, FINTRAC has provided over 21,000 financial intelligence disclosures to Canada's police, law enforcement and national security agencies.
- The top three predicate offences related to FINTRAC's financial intelligence disclosures in 2020–21 were fraud (35%), drugs (34%) and tax evasion (9%).
- The top recipients of FINTRAC's financial intelligence disclosure packages were federal law enforcement organizations (2,569), municipal police (925), federal government organizations (915) and provincial law enforcement organizations (639).
- FINTRAC conducted 151 compliance examinations across the country in 2020–21, the largest number of which were focused on the real estate sector (53), money services businesses (50), and securities dealers (25).
- In 2020–21, FINTRAC issued nine Notices of Violation for non-compliance, five in the real estate sector for a total of $538,230, two in the money services business sector for a total of $143,219, and two in the dealers in precious metals and stones sector for a total of $272,910.
- In 2020–21, FINTRAC provided nine Non-Compliance Disclosures to police.
- Throughout the year, FINTRAC responded to 6,778 enquiries from businesses, issued 445 policy interpretations to assist with compliance, and conducted 208 engagement and outreach activities with businesses and stakeholders.
- In the early months of the pandemic, FINTRAC published a Special Bulletin, COVID-19: Trends in Money Laundering and Fraud, identifying increased money laundering risks associated with the crisis, and developed money laundering and terrorist financing indicators for virtual currency transactions.
- In December 2020, FINTRAC published an Operational Alert, Laundering of Proceeds from Online Child Sexual Exploitation, in support of the public launch of Project Shadow, the fifth public-private partnership involving FINTRAC, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian businesses.
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Contacts
Media Relations
Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
613-947-6875
media.medias@fintrac-canafe.gc.ca
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