Is Canada a haven for international money laundering?
According to international law enforcement agencies, Canada is one of the most popular destinations in the world for criminals who want to circulate dirty money through an economy and have it come out clean. Canada’s money laundering reputation is so pervasive that law enforcement agencies have a nickname for it – "snow washing."
Now, the Liberal Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is acknowledging the extent of the problem and vowing to crack down on it after years of quiet denials.
"This issue was identified as a real priority. It has become a priority for my government," said Bill Blair, Canada’s federal minister for organized crime reduction, during a speech in British Columbia. "We recognize and acknowledge the impact that this criminal activity – money laundering – has had on British Columbia, on the affordability of housing, and on the integrity of our financial institutions."
Money laundering in B.C. has had a spotlight thrown on it after Vancouver-area casinos were found to have allowed millions of dollars in suspicious cash drops over the past decade. An initial investigation commissioned by the provincial government concluded that at least $100 million had flowed through casinos that served as "laundromats" for criminal organizations.
A report examining how dirty money has flowed into real estate, luxury cars and horse racing will be submitted by the end of this week to the Government of B.C. And Ottawa is pledging its full support to stop international money launderers targeting Canada to wash their money.
The federal budget tabled last week proposed to spend more than $190 million on measures to tackle money laundering and tax evasion across the country. It also proposed legislative amendments to make it easier to identify the beneficiary owners of private companies, often used to hold property anonymously, and to also make it easier to prosecute individuals believed to be handling suspicious funds.
However, prosecuting international criminals in Canada has proven to be difficult. The criminal case involving suspected drug money circulating through Vancouver casinos collapsed last November after federal prosecutors concluded that there wasn’t a reasonable prospect of convictions in the case as the criminals involved reside outside Canadian jurisdiction.
