Canada: Real-Estate Firms Violate Anti-Money Laundering Rules
What Happened?
March 6, 2020: Canada’s financial watchdog FinTRAC audited 500 real estate companies, and found 172 were guilty of violating anti-money laundering rules by neither checking the identities of their clients nor reporting large cash deals to the government.
At half of the companies audited, the sales agents had no formal training on how to properly detect money laundering or verify the identity of their clients.
In response, FinTRAC is implementing an ownership registry beginning May 2020, and making it mandatory for real estate agents to take an anti-money laundering course–a first for Canada.
Source: https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/11760-canada-real-estate-firms-violate-anti-money-laundering-rules
Who Is Impacted?
Real-Estate Developers, Brokers, and Sales Representatives.
Why This Matters?
In 2019, an expert panel estimated that $5.3 billion dollars (US$ 4 billion) were laundered through real-estate transactions in Canada in 2018.
With their 2019 budget increase from the Canadian government, FinTRAC has launched an aggressive front to combat this activity in our economy.
“This offensive is sending a strong message to the sector and to people who might seek to exploit it that we all are determined to protect the Canadian people and the economy.” – FinTRAC spokesperson, Erica Constant
What’s Next?
The provinces hope these actions from the Regulator will prevent the use of trusts, corporations, or partnerships to hide transactions from public view.
learn more
Is your AML compliance too expensive, time-consuming, or ineffective?
iComply enables financial services providers to reduce costs, risk, and complexity and improve staff capacity, effectiveness, and customer experience.
Request a demo today.
WHAT ARE THE 3 STAGES OF MONEY LAUNDERING AND HOW CAN AML CHECKS COMBAT FRAUD?
Money laundering is a complex process used by criminals to disguise the origins of illegally obtained money. Understanding the three stages of money laundering is essential for implementing effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML)...
IDENTITY VERIFICATION WITH LIVENESS DETECTION: THE KEY TO PREVENTING SPOOFING ATTACKS
In the digital age, identity verification has become a cornerstone of security for financial institutions and businesses. However, traditional methods are increasingly vulnerable to spoofing attacks, where fraudsters use fake or...
SOURCE OF FUNDS | A CRITICAL STEP IN MITIGATING THE RISK OF MONEY LAUNDERING
Identifying the source of funds is a crucial step in mitigating the risk of money laundering. By understanding where money originates, financial institutions can better assess the legitimacy of transactions and prevent illicit...