Money laundering on a national level is a serious issue that jeopardizes the integrity of a wide array of sectors. Its prevention is something the federal government is working on and its latest proposal of implementing the Anti-Money Laundering Action and Co-ordination Team that would be able to keep an eye on the casino, real estate, and other sectors across Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
Washing copious amount of cash on a daily basis through various sectors for years on end is a possibility that causes concern in many Canadians. Estimations have failed to put their finger on the true scale of the issue, but it could be well into the millions. Prevention of future money laundering are among the main concerns of taxpayers and the federal government might have responded to their incessant demands.
Anti-Money Laundering Action and Co-ordination Team to Launch
Tuesday saw the official issuing of the 2019 budget that featured some CA$29 million dedicated for the further research and work on minimizing the destructive practice. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is going to receive a portion of the said funding, in addition to the financial intelligence watchdog. What drew the attention of people from all corners of Canada, was the announcement of a special task force that would keep an eye on anything suspicious.
This new task force is going to actively search for any potential loopholes that could be used for washing dirty cash, as well as monitor the sectors that are highly prone to illegal practices taking place. At the moment Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal are eyed as the locations that have the capacity of attracting such criminal activities. They are going to be closely monitored by the new task force.
This would be the first step in the right direction, as the federal government plans on pouring more funding. About CA$200 million are going to be invested in battling money laundering over the span of the following five years, but that is not all. In this same time period, more funding will be provided for further research and prevention of money laundering practices. The pilot program of this new ACE Team is projected to cost about CA$24 million from the federal budget, striving to bring a wide variety of agencies.
Criminal Code Amendment Proposed
According to the information issued this Tuesday, the special task force would bring together intelligence agencies to the likes of RCMP, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, Canada Revenue Agency, as well as numerous federal justice department prosecutors. This is going to facilitate the flow of information between them, as they would share information and discoveries of potentially risky.
This shortfall has allowed criminal activity to continue for years and launder millions of Canadian dollars. In addition to this new task force, Fintrac and Canada Border Services are going to team up and for the creation of a Trade-based Money Laundering Centre of Expertise. With the help of a CA$28.6 million over the span of four years and CA$10.5 million annually following this period would ensure that washing dirty cash threats within the export and import sector would be closely monitored.
In addition to that, Canada’s Criminal Code is going to see a crucial amendment that would make it illegal for businesses operating with cash to move money on behalf of another person or organization if they have the knowledge that there is a risk.
The announcement of these groundbreaking changes came as good news for British Columbia Attorney-General David Eby who has been an active part of the money-laundering battle. Two new reports on the subject focusing on the real estate field are expected to be issued this month.
