Don't Try This Laundry At Home (Or Anywhere Else)

With FINTRAC issuing its first administrative monetary penalty (AMP) against a bank this year, in excess of $1 million, and an increase in AMP activity generally, managing litigation and penalty risk is becoming an increasingly important aspect of compliance programs for all reporting entities under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act.

Careful consideration should be given to how unusual transactions are identified, communicated about and reviewed for reporting purposes. Internal communications about unusual transactions and related indicators of money laundering, in particular, premature expressions of opinions and conclusions about suspicions of money laundering prior to completion of a review by AML specialists, may give rise to an enhanced compliance risk; in particular a greater risk of issuance of AMPs in the course of a FINTRAC examination.