Politics · Canada · 7 hrs ago
Canada plans to move bank anti-money-laundering oversight from FinTRAC
Canada’s auditor found FinTRAC was ineffective at overseeing compliance with anti-money-laundering laws and producing financial intelligence.
FinTRAC is the federal agency that helps enforce financial-crime rules across thousands of businesses, including Canada’s chartered banks.
The federal budget plans to move bank oversight to OSFI, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, where that responsibility previously sat.
The move follows longstanding criticism, including a 2022 finding that police could not rely on FinTRAC for timely, useful intelligence about money laundering.
FinTRAC said 95 per cent of its intelligence was actionable, but the auditor found that only about 3 per cent of recipients had provided feedback, making the claim hard to assess.
The auditor also found that some feedback said the intelligence was difficult to follow, lacked useful details or arrived too late.
The agency’s wider shortcomings remain unresolved; Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is accountable for FinTRAC, and the commentary says he must explain how it will be fixed before Bill S-8 becomes law.
Canada plans to transfer oversight of chartered banks’ anti-money-laundering efforts from FinTRAC to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
The change was included in the federal budget.
The plan follows an Auditor-General’s audit that found FinTRAC had not effectively overseen compliance with anti-money-laundering laws or produced financial intelligence.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne has also introduced Bill S-8, which the article describes as tougher anti-financial-crime legislation.
A Globe and Mail columnist says the oversight change is not enough and argues that the government must explain how it will fix FinTRAC.
- Who
- The federal government plans to move bank oversight from FinTRAC to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
- What
- Responsibility for overseeing chartered banks’ anti-money-laundering efforts will shift from FinTRAC.
- When
- The plan was included in the federal budget tabled on Nov. 5.
- Where
- Canada.
- Why
- The Auditor-General found that FinTRAC had not effectively overseen compliance with anti-money-laundering laws or produced financial intelligence.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Auditor-General released an audit of FinTRAC.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced Bill S-8.
The federal budget was tabled, including the plan to move bank oversight from FinTRAC to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
- Current bank oversight
- FinTRAC
- Planned bank oversight
- Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
- Budget date
- Nov. 5
- Legislation
- Bill S-8
- FinTRAC reporting period cited
- 2024-25
What people are saying
fraud and money laundering are serious crimes that harm Canadians
did not effectively carry out its role in overseeing compliance with Canada’s anti-money laundering laws or producing financial intelligence
not strictly connected to . . . developing FinTRAC expertise