Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada to issue extortion-focused indicator profiles and step up intelligence sharing with reporting entities

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) published a backgrounder outlining a package of outreach and information-sharing initiatives with private sector partners to help detect and report suspicious transactions linked to the laundering of the proceeds of extortion. The plan centres on providing timely typologies and indicators through trusted channels and new information-sharing protocols, drawing on law enforcement expertise across jurisdictions. In the immediate term, FINTRAC will develop Targeted Indicator Profiles (TIP sheets) focused on extortion, aimed at improving the timeliness and quality of suspicious transaction reports. As Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing (AML/ATF) supervisor, it will convene sector-specific education and outreach events for the entities best positioned to identify extortion-related activity, with input from police of jurisdiction, and then publish a special bulletin to the wider reporting entity community. FINTRAC also expects to use existing public-private fora to expand shared understanding and will analyse resulting reports for potential disclosure to law enforcement and other authorized recipients where there are reasonable grounds to suspect the information is relevant to investigating or prosecuting a money laundering, terrorist activity financing, or sanctions evasion offence. Next steps include the issuance of the TIP sheets, delivery of the sector sessions, and publication of the follow-on special bulletin after those sessions.