In the 2024 Federal Budget ("Budget 2024") the federal government announced its intention to amend the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (the "PCMLTF Act") to include stronger measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in Canada.
With the federal government completing the first reading of the bill to implement Budget 2024 on May 2, 2024, these amendments moved one step closer to being implemented.
Proposed amendments to the PCMLTF Act
The amendments to the PCMLTF Act can be broken into two separate initiatives to combat money laundering and terrorist financing by the federal government.
First, the amendments propose to eliminate or ease barriers to information sharing between government agencies and reporting entities under the PCMLTF Act. For example, the amendments would:
- permit information sharing between reporting entities under the PCMLTF Act for the purpose of detecting and deterring money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion;
- authorize, subject to certain conditions, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada ("FINTRAC") to disclose certain information to provincial and territorial civil forfeiture offices and to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration; and
- authorize FINTRAC to publicize additional information pertaining to violations of the PCMLTF Act.
These amendments seek to strengthen the ability of entities in Canada to detect, prevent and prosecute money laundering and terrorist financing offences. With information barriers having long been an issue, the amendments seek to ease some of these concerns.
Second, the amendments extend the application of the PCMLTF Act to armoured cars and cheque cashing businesses. We previously discussed how the armoured car sector will be affected in our article. The amendments propose to regulate these businesses as money services businesses, meaning, once the amendments come into force, armoured car and cheque cashing businesses will be required to register with FINTRAC and adhere to a number of compliance requirements under the PCMLTF Act.
Conclusion
If passed, these amendments are set to come into force on July 1, 2024.
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