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 [...]
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 [...]
A former bank official with the Chase Bank was convicted of disclosing the existence of a suspicious transaction report (suspicious activity report in the U.S.) to a bank customer. Frank Mendoza, who worked as a loss mitigation specialist for Chase Bank, conducted an investigation of a delinquent borrower on mortgage loans made in relation to seven [...]
The RCMP have arrested seven Calgary-area residents in connection with what they are calling a massive money laundering scheme tied to illegal gambling and drug trafficking. The two-year investigation, dubbed “Operation Kwadrant,” was initiated from incidents of suspected money laundering at a local casino. During the raid, police seized two Lamborghinis, two Porsches and 4.5 [...]
FinCEN released its final rule regarding the confidentiality of suspicious activity reports and has determined that financial institutions must keep quiet about investigations of suspicious account activity, even when transactional reports are not required to be filed, the U.S. Treasury Department said Tuesday. The final rule, which takes effect in December, requires compliance departments to [...]
FINTRAC issued its 2010 Annual Report to Parliament today and among the highlights in this year’s report are the following: FINTRAC made 579 disclosures of information that it suspected may be relevant for investigating threats to Canada’s national security, terrorist financing or money laundering; Approximately 63% of the disclosures of information were made to the [...]
FinCEN has released its latest SAR Activity Review, a compilation of suspicious activity reports (called suspicious transaction reports in Canada) filed by depository institutions, money services businesses, casinos and card clubs and segments of the securities industry and insurance industry. In 2009, the number of SARs filed dropped in all segments except the casinos and [...]