Sectors that must report

Banks, savings and credit unions, caisses populaires, cooperative credit societies, trust and loan companies;


Life insurance companies, brokers and agents;


Securities dealers, portfolio managers and investment counsellors;


Money services businesses and foreign exchange dealers;


Agents of the Crown for money orders;


Accountants and accounting firms;


Real estate brokers or sales representatives;


Casinos;


Dealers in precious metals and stones;


Public notaries and notary corporations of British Columbia; and


Real estate developers

Are You on the List?

Under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act it is estimated that 450,000+ reporting entities across Canada must report suspicious and certain other transactions to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).


The Object of the PC(ML)TFA (the ACT) is:

(a) to implement specific measures to detect and deter money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities and to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of money laundering offences and terrorist activity financing offences, including (S.C. 2001, c. 41, ss. 50(1))

(i) establishing record keeping and client identification requirements for financial services providers and other persons or entities that engage in businesses, professions or activities that are susceptible to being used for money laundering or the financing of terrorist activities, (S.C. 2001, c. 41, ss. 50(1))

(ii) requiring the reporting of suspicious financial transactions and of cross-border movements of currency and monetary instruments, and

(iii) establishing an agency that is responsible for dealing with reported and other information (FINTRAC);

(b) to respond to the threat posed by organized crime by providing law enforcement officials with the information they need to deprive criminals of the proceeds of their criminal activities, while ensuring that appropriate safeguards are put in place to protect the privacy of persons with respect to personal information about themselves; and

(c) to assist in fulfilling Canada's international commitments to participate in the fight against transnational crime, particularly money laundering, and the fight against terrorist activity. (S.C. 2001, c. 41, ss. 50(2)).


Under the Act, reporting entities will have to put in place a written training program for their employees dealing with the various compliance requirements mandated by the legislation. This requires staff to become much more familiar with the practices of money launderers and terrorist financing when it comes to their movement of money throughout their respective sectors. Identifying these practices will be critical and accessing resources to assist with this process is an important aspect of controlling the risk as well as meeting the due diligence requirements. A strategic resource is available to assist in that process and can be found through subscribing to ABCsolutions' On-line Education Centre as well as, view our other service lines.