Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada

Activities

FINTRAC receives information from regulated entities on:

• Suspicious transactions
• Suspected terrorist property
• Large cash transactions
• Outgoing or Incoming International Electronic funds transfer over $10,000 CAD within a 24-hour period
• Cross border currency reporting

In 2009, FINTRAC estimated that the amount of money laundered on an annual basis is somewhere between $5 and $15 billion.

FINTRAC publishes annual results, quarterly updates, performance reports, and notices.

FINTRAC analyzes approximately 19 million transactions per year. In 2017, FINTRAC made 2,000 disclosures to police forces.

Public-private partnerships

Starting in 2016, FINTRAC began a series of public-private partnerships, each with a special project name to be used when reporting suspicious activity and each with a specific type of crime to target.

• Project PROTECT, launched in January 2016 in partnership with Bank of Montreal, is aimed at combating human trafficking. According to FINTRAC, reporting on money laundering related to trafficking went up 750% after the special project began.
• Project CHAMELEON, led by HSBC and established in 2017, seeks to protect victims of romance fraud.
• Project GUARDIAN, started in February 2018 with the help of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, tracks the movement of opioids and fentanyl.
• Project ATHENA is an operation led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police focused on the movement of money through casinos and underground banking that launched in 2019.
• Project SHADOW, a joint effort with Scotiabank that began in December 2020, is designed to prevent child sexual exploitation.
• Project LEGION kicked off in 2022 in partnership with Toronto-Dominion Bank and highlights money laundering efforts tied into the sale of cannabis.
• Project ANTON, a 2023 international endeavor named in honor of Anton Mzimba, brings attention to the illicit wildlife trade.
• Project DOLUS is focused on money laundering disguised through online gambling. The U.S. corollary to FINTRAC, FinCEN, has also joined in on projects PROTECT, GUARDIAN, SHADOW, and ANTON.

Directors

The Director is appointed by the Governor-in-Council for a term of not more than five years during the pleasure of the Governor General and on the expiry of a first or subsequent term of office but no person shall hold office as Director for terms of more than ten years in the aggregate.

• Sarah Paquet, November 18, 2020
• Nada Semaan, March 5, 2018
• Barry MacKillop (Interim Director), October 18, 2017 - March 4, 2018.
• Gérald Cossette, October 15, 2012 – October 17, 2017
• Jeanne M. Flemming, March 3, 2008 – 2012
• Keith Fernandez, acting director, 2007 - 2008
• Horst Intscher, 2000 - 2007

Reports

Most FINTRAC reports can be submitted electronically or in paper. For electronic submissions, reporting entities must be enrolled in FINTRAC's electronic reporting system and can use either FINTRAC's web form or a batch report, which enables the submission of several reports at once using a public key certificate. The following activities are to be filed in reports to FINTRAC:

• Suspicious transactions
• Large cash transactions
• Large virtual currency transactions
• Electronic funds transfers
• Casino disbursements
• Terrorist property
• Alternative to large cash transaction reports

FINTRAC can also receive the following information:

• Cross-border currency or monetary instruments reports
• Voluntary Information

Oversight

FINTRAC reports to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of Finance. Section 72(2) of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act also mandates audits of FINTRAC by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada every two years.

Since 2019 its national security and intelligence activities are subject to oversight by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency and the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.

Criticism

In 2009, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada reported that FINTRAC was receiving and retaining personal information beyond its remit, in breach of the Privacy Act, and that this "presents an unquestionable risk to privacy by making available for use or disclosure personal information which should never have been obtained."

References

References

1. (12 July 2012). "Population of the federal public service by department".
2. (2020-11-18). "Director". Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.
3. "FINTRAC - Who We Are".
4. "Bill C-25 (Historical) {{!}} openparliament.ca".
5. (2012-06-04). "FINTRAC is a member of the Egmont Group". FINTRAC.
6. A large cash transaction is considered to be [[Canadian dollar. CA$]]10,000 or more.
7. Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of. (6 December 2003). "Electronic funds transfers".
8. "Money laundering in Canada, 2009".
9. Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of. (30 May 2015). "Corporate reports".
10. (November 28, 2018). "Raj Grewal queried federal agencies on ability to probe money laundering". [[The Globe and Mail]].
11. (12 December 2017). "Project Protect: An In-Depth Review of the Public-Private Partnership to Combat Human Trafficking in Canada".
12. (30 July 2021). "FINTRAC provides additional money laundering indicators associated with human trafficking for sexual exploitation in support of Project Protect". FINTRAC.
13. (25 August 2020). "Regional Report: Canada has done ‘amazing things’ to fight crime through public-private partnerships, but still hampered by stringent privacy rules, lack of AML safe harbors". Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists.
14. "Project GUARDIAN - Renewing Public Service through Collaboration". FINTRAC.
15. (December 2019). "Operational alert: Laundering the proceeds of crime through a casino-related underground banking scheme". FINTRAC.
16. (27 December 2020). "Scotiabank project follows money trails to detect signs of child sexual exploitation".
17. (28 September 2022). "Front companies being used to launder illicit cannabis cash: intelligence agency".
18. (31 January 2023). "Canada’s financial intelligence unit steps up fight against illegal wildlife trade".
19. (January 2024). "Special Bulletin on laundering the proceeds of crime through online gambling sites". FINTRAC.
20. (25 October 2024). "FinCEN and Partner FIU Officials Meet in Canada for International Public-Private Partnership Events on Illicit Finance". FinCEN.
21. "Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act". Laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
22. Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of. (7 May 2008). "Director and Chief Executive Officer".
23. "The Prime Minister announces changes in the senior ranks of the Public Service".
24. "Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada - Director".
25. "Prime Minister announces changes in the senior ranks of the Public Service - Prime Minister of Canada". Pm.gc.ca.
26. (2012-06-27). "Travel and Hospitality Expense Reports - Search by Senior Level FINTRAC Employees - FINTRAC - Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada". Fintrac-canafe.gc.ca.
27. Government of Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. (2005-12-06). "Batch reporting {{!}} FINTRAC – Canada.ca".
28. Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of. (30 May 2015). "Financial transactions that must be reported".
29. Government of Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. (2008-06-10). "Reporting suspicious transactions to FINTRAC {{!}} FINTRAC – Canada.ca".
30. Government of Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. (2008-06-10). "Guideline 7A: Submitting Large Cash Transaction Reports to FINTRAC Electronically {{!}} FINTRAC – Canada.ca".
31. Government of Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. (2021-06-01). "Reporting large virtual currency transactions to FINTRAC {{!}} FINTRAC – Canada.ca".
32. Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of. (June 1, 2021). "Submitting Casino Disbursement Reports to FINTRAC Electronically".
33. Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of. (30 December 2003). "Terrorist Property".
34. Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of. (30 December 2003). "Alternative to large cash transactions".
35. Agency, Government of Canada, Canada Border Services. (11 December 2013). "Travellers - Travelling with CAN$ 10,000 or more".
36. Government of Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. (2020-05-04). "Providing voluntary information {{!}} FINTRAC – Canada.ca".
37. (1 March 2018). "Appearance before the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Finance for its statutory review of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA)".
38. "Audit of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada".