News
Canada Issues AML Rules Extending Reporting, Record-keeping Requirements
By Matthew Squire
printThe Canadian government has published final rules extending the country's anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-terrorist financing (ATF) laws to certain notaries, jewelers and the legal profession. The new rules also outline penalty guidelines for money laundering violations. The regulations, published in Wednesday's Canada Gazette, require notaries operating in the British Columbia, dealers in precious metal and stones, and legal professionals to adhere to the customer identification, record-keeping, and reporting requirements of Canada's Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. "We are stepping up our regime by casting our net wider to detect illicit transactions, in line with international...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Subscribe
Learn More
Related News
New Zealand's Ministry of Justice called for industry input ahead of the government's submission next year of legislation that could impose anti-money laundering rules on non-bank businesses and amend suspicious activity reporting obligations.
Although Canadian financial institutions have collectively invested millions of dollars to shield themselves from bad actors, little evidence exists that their efforts are paying off, according to Milos Barutciski, a board member of Transparency International Canada.
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.
Early results from an ongoing regulatory review suggests that British attorneys are falling short of their anti-money laundering duties, in part by failing to report suspicions about their clients.
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.
The findings of a pending report by Canadian lawmakers will likely spur reforms of the nation's financial intelligence unit and new anti-money laundering rules for non-financial institutions, say sources.
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.
The European Commission sets a two month deadline for Germany to fully comply with the Third Money Laundering Directive, a secret report is leaked connecting an Islamic political group and al-Qaida, and more, in this week's roundup.
A client of UBS AG pleads guilty to tax evasion as a longstanding data sharing arrangement between the United States and the European Union is poised to collapse, in this week's news roundup.
The United States and Canada will soon begin sharing more data on seized currency in an effort to crackdown on terrorist financing and other crimes, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday.
The U.S. Justice Department dropped its controversial money-laundering case Wednesday against a prominent Miami lawyer who had vetted legal fees for a second attorney defending a Colombian drug lord.
The U.S. Treasury Department dropped a long running case Tuesday against an attorney it said covered up the fraud that eventually led to the dissolution of a Miami bank.
In the world of financial compliance, Canada "talks a good game" but does little to enforce counter-terrorism financing and anti-money laundering regulations, according to Chris Mathers, a Toronto-based consultant.
A federal judge's decision to drop a money laundering charge against a Miami attorney accused of vetting dirty money will increase the burden of proof for prosecutors, say former officials.
Most U.K. lawyers have adjusted their policies and procedures to comply with the country's latest Money Laundering Regulations, but are unhappy about the burden of the new requirements, according to an online survey by the Law Society of England and Wales.
France's highest court has overturned a law requiring lawyers to report the suspicious activities of their clients related to money laundering, a provision of the European Union's Second Money Laundering directive, which France adopted by decree in 2006.
Canada's financial intelligence unit, which has been criticized for failing to effectively enforce the nation's anti-money laundering laws, is being new granted powers to levy money penalties against offending institutions.
Canadian authorities charged a Sri Lankan-born man with raising funds for a terrorist organization, marking the first time Canada has charged an individual with the crime.
The Canadian Department of Finance said the changes are designed to bring the countrys AML regime in line with the international standards set forth by the Financial Action Task Force.