“Can you keep a secret?” How 5 different realtors in Canada agreed to launder proceeds of crime from Colombian narcotics activities for a criminal, in a Radio-Canada investigation

Radio-Canada, the French language version of the CBC, published an explosive investigative story here on March 26, 2020, as part of its Enquête series, where five realtors in Montréal each independently agreed to take proceeds of crime derived from Colombian narcotics activities from a buyer from Panama with a criminal record, on a hidden camera, […]

US unseals money laundering indictment against owner of Bitcoin mixing service that was used by Canadian darknet site

Indictment for mixing service On February 13, 2020, the US government unsealed an indictment against Larry Dean Harmon, the alleged founder of a Bitcoin mixing Bitcoin service, and of a darknet search engine that hooked up with the now-defunct illegal Canadian darknet site called AlphaBay. The mixing service was called Helix and the darknet search […]

UK Bitcoin drug dealer who imported illegal drugs from Canada on the darknet, sentenced to 8 years in jail

A UK man, Paul Johnson, was sentenced to eight years in jail in the UK for operating a darknet drug trafficking business from the attic of his home. In order to obfuscate what he was doing, he set up a company called “Labrador Tea Company” and used it to buy illegal drugs from Canadians in […]

SEC locates pump & dump alleged mastermind in Ibiza who used a Vancouver lawyer for the alleged scheme

Biozoom boy found in Ibiza The alleged mastermind behind the alleged pump and dump securities fraud case involving Biozoom, Francisco Abellan Villena, has been located in Ibiza, the playground for billionaires. Villena is currently incarcerated in Ibiza, perhaps on an extradition warrant from the US. He was located by an investigator in Spain hired at […]

The Com Man: Canadian ICO founder who led a rich and famous lifestyle with private jet trips, diamond watches and fast cars, arrested

Canadian ICO founder arrested; investors all over the world may be out at least $80 million A Canadian from Montreal, Quebec, named Aziz Com Mirza, was arrested in Dubai on October 27, 2019, and is chilling in the Al Awir jail, on allegations of running a Ponzi scheme. Mirza founded a Canadian initial coin offering […]

Canadian jailbird was able to traffic in fentanyl internationally using Bitcoin, US authorities say, and launder money from jail

A Canadian incarcerated near Montreal, Jason Berry, is facing extradition to the US over charges that, from jail, he trafficked fentanyl all over the world. According to the extradition request, the fentanyl sold by Berry caused the death of several Americans, as well as Canadians from overdoses. Berry is serving a 12 year sentence for […]

Biggest illegal darknet Bitcoin marketplace shut down; operated from Canada

The US DoJ has taken down what it calls the world’s largest criminal marketplace on the Internet called AlphaBay yesterday, which operated for over two years on the darknet. AlphaBay was ten times larger than Silk Road, when it was taken down in 2013. AlphaBay was a Canadian darknet illegal drug marketplace with servers in Three […]

Turning a blind eye to money laundering now costs you in Canada

In a surprise decision for Canada, an appellate court has reversed a lenient sentence for Jacqueline Garnett, the girlfriend of a drug dealer who was convicted of possession of proceeds of crime, and instead imposed a two-year conditional sentence, partially to be served under house arrest. While the new sentence is still light by global […]

Canada’s New Cannabis Act – Harsh New Offences; Money Laundering; Why Cannabis Stores Can’t Get Bank Accounts; Role of Organized Crime

Canada introduced a new Cannabis law, Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, expected to come into force in July 2018. Skip to Part 2, below, if you just want to review the new law. Part 1 – Background on Current Law, Illegal Dispensing; Denial of Bank Accounts Illegality of Cannabis Sales Except for Medical Purposes Until […]

Issues in Financial Crime, Technology, RegTech, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

3rd Annual Vancouver FinTech Conference The 3rd Annual Financial Technology Conference in Vancouver takes place on May 3, 2017, which we co-sponsor. This year’s Conference focuses on “FinTech, RegTech and Financial Crime” and will cover the nexus between technology solutions to address regulation (RegTech), law, money laundering, terrorist financing, compliance, fraud, identity management, corruption, real […]