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Ottawa, February 16, 2001
2001-016

Federal Government Publishes the Proposed New Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Regulations

Related documents:

• Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Regulations, 2000 - as published in the Canada Gazette Part I.

Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions) Jim Peterson today announced that the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Regulations will be published in Part I of the Canada Gazette on February 17, 2001, for a 90-day public comment period.

The proposed regulations set out the reporting, record-keeping and client identification requirements for financial institutions, currency exchange dealers, money service businesses, casinos and other financial intermediaries.

They provide greater detail respecting the obligations under Part I of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act, which received Royal Assent on June 29, 2000. This statute provides for a mandatory suspicious and prescribed transactions reporting system, as well as the reporting of large cross-border movements of currency and monetary instruments. It also establishes the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) for the receipt and analysis of these reports.

The proposed regulations reflect the input received during an extensive consultation process, which began with the release of a Department of Finance consultation paper in December 1999. The Government has benefited from this process and looks forward to receiving written comments from stakeholders during the 90-day consultation period.

In addition to the proposed regulations, the Department of Finance has begun a new phase of consultations to prepare regulations to implement the reporting requirements for large cross-border movements of currency and monetary instruments prescribed under Part II of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act. As part of this exercise, the Department of Finance will also consider options for expanding the scope of coverage under the proposed regulations to other financial activities.

FINTRAC is developing guidelines to assist financial institutions and financial intermediaries in complying with the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Regulations. It is releasing draft guidelines for public comment, which include a backgrounder, suspicious transaction reporting, submitting reports to FINTRAC and the implementation of a compliance regime.

The proposed Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Regulations will be published in Part I of the Canada Gazette on February 17. They can be obtained on the Canada Gazette Web site at http://canada.gc.ca/gazette/hompar1_e.html, on the Department of Finance Web site at www.fin.gc.ca or from Canadian Government Publishing at 1 800 635-7943. Written comments on the pre-published regulations should be directed to the Financial Crimes Section, Department of Finance, 140 O’Connor Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5, fax: (613) 943-8436, e-mail: fcs-scf@fin.gc.ca. The Section can be reached by phone at (613) 995-1814.

Copies of FINTRAC’s draft guidelines may be obtained from FINTRAC’s new Web site at www.fintrac.gc.ca as of February 17. Comments on the draft guidelines may be faxed to (613) 943-7931, e-mailed to guidelines@fintrac.gc.ca, sent through the Web site at www.fintrac.gc.ca, or sent to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, 234 Laurier Ave., Ottawa, ON K1P 1H7.

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