Canada’s financial intelligence unit: FINTRAC

Abstract

PurposeInternational bodies, such as the Financial Action Task Force , have mandated the use of financial intelligence units (FIU) to address organized crime and money laundering. The purpose of this paper is to examine Canada’s FIU, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), and explore its current effectiveness and future challenges.Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines FIUs in general and then looks more specifically at Canada’s FIU, its policy and legislative basis as well as future challenges for the FIU.FindingsThe challenge money laundering poses to society is a mirror of the challenge that organized crime poses: a test of the values and the importance of rule of law. The FIU is an important mechanism to address this challenge generally, and there are important changes in the environment that must be addressed if the future policy objectives of the FIU are to be met.Research limitations/implicationsSome of the policy nostrums that are baked into the anti-money laundering system, such as placement, layering and integration, need to be revisited and researched to incorporate changes in the licit and illicit marketplaces.Practical implicationsFinancial institutions and other intermediaries must comply with domestic anti-money laundering laws. Compliance is always contextual, and this paper will outline the role of the regulator and the environmental challenges that need to be met.Social implicationsEffectively addressing money laundering and organized crime is critical to the maintenance of rule of law and the protection of the financial system.Originality/valueThis is a brief but very fulsome review of Canada’s FIU, FINTRAC, which captures broader challenges in addressing money laundering, economic crime and regulatory systems designed to protect rule of law and the integrity of the financial system. The paper not only examines the current state of the FIU but also explores challenges on the horizon.