Court of Appeal in British Columbia rules that anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing laws applied to lawyers infringe fundamental freedom

The Court of Appeal for British Columbia ruled today that the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, as it applies to lawyers in that province, interferes to an unacceptable degree with the independence of the Bar as a principle of fundamental justice, and as a consequence, held that the legislation does not apply to [...]

Senate finds that Canada’s anti-money laundering regime is ineffective

Canada is failing miserably in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing efforts according to a report published by the country’s Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. The report, entitled “Follow the Money: Is Canada Making Progress in Combatting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing? Not Really” (the “Report“) makes several findings and recommendations, the chief [...]

Canada still a “major money laundering country” in 2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on AML

The 2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (“INCSR“) published this month by the U.S. Department of State, particularly volume I on the drug trafficking trade, is more favourable of Canada than the last two years, primarily as a result of the enactment in Canada of the Omnibus Crime Bill C-10, know as the Safe Streets and [...]

Vegas lawyer sentenced in money laundering case

Lawrence Davidson, a once prominent lawyer in Las Vegas, was sentenced today to 8 years in prison for money laundering and mail fraud. Davidson was indicted in 2005 on charges that he negotiated 17 settlements totaling USD$936,300 over 14 months for clients without their permission. His case spun off a corruption case in Las Vegas involving [...]

Convicted lawyer Scott Rothstein’s wife charged with money laundering

In a much anticipated move, Kim Rothstein, the so-called “free-spending” wife of Scott Rothstein, the Florida lawyer convicted of money laundering for running a Ponzi scheme through his now-defunct law firm, has been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Kim Rothstein’s lawyer, Scott Saidel and her close friend, Stacie Weisman, were also charged with [...]

British judge extradited to Italy on money laundering charges

Colin Dines, a retired British judge and former criminal law lawyer, is being extradited from London to Rome to face charges by an Italian magistrate that he was part of a transnational criminal organization complicit in laundering £344 million at the behest of the mafia. In 2010, an European Arrest Warrant (“EAW”) was issued against [...]

Record prison sentence imposed on lawyer for insider trading and money laundering

New York lawyer  Matthew Kluger was sentenced yesterday in federal court in New Jersey to 12 years in prison for insider trading. His sentence is the longest term ever imposed for that crime in the U.S.  Kruger stole undisclosed transactional information on approximately 30 deals when he was a corporate lawyer with several U.S. law [...]

FATF Releases New Recommendations and Standards for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing

Today, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released its long anticipated revised set of standards for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CTF) which replace the 40 Recommendations + 9 Special Recommendations compiled in 2003. The revised FATF Recommendations integrate AML and CTF controls into one document and are quite expansive in that they [...]

Canada proposes further anti-money laundering amendments

The Canadian government announced that it is undertaking a potentially significant revision to its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CTF) regime. The proposed changes are in addition to those proposed by the government in November 2011. In its Consultation Paper entitled “Strengthening Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime”, the government is proposing [...]

Canada proposes significant new AML regulations

On November 7, 2011, the Department of Finance released a consultation paper on proposed amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations (the “Regulations”). The proposed amendments are significant because they expand the circumstances in which client identification is required and expand the reporting requirements for reporting entities. Most reporting entities in [...]