Department of Finance Canada highlighted a national “follow-the-money” strategy aimed at improving the detection, disruption, and prevention of extortion by strengthening how financial intelligence is collected and shared with law enforcement, with particular emphasis on impacts in Québec and Montréal. The package, first announced on February 19, centres on mobilising the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) through dedicated financial intelligence liaison officers embedded with local police, reprioritised analytical resources focused on extortion, a new Countering Extortion Partnership spanning financial institutions, government and law enforcement, guidance for identifying extortion-linked transactions, and the publication of strategic intelligence on how extortion proceeds are moved and concealed. Since the launch of the campaign, FINTRAC has engaged with 28 law enforcement and intelligence units and nearly 200 police investigators across four provinces, generating 37 financial intelligence disclosures, more than three times the number produced over the previous two years on extortion. Collaboration in Montréal is set to involve Canadian banks, credit unions and virtual asset financial service providers alongside partners including the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Sûreté du Québec and the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, with intelligence experts deployed on the ground. The release also linked the initiative to broader federal measures, including Budget 2025’s CAD 1.7 billion to strengthen RCMP capacity and hire 1,000 personnel, with 150 dedicated to tackling financial crimes, and work toward legislation to establish a new Financial Crimes Agency by spring 2026. It noted that Bill C-12 proposes reforms to strengthen anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing supervision and enforcement, including a forty-fold increase in civil penalties and a ten-fold increase in criminal fines.
Department of Finance (Canada) 2026-03-30
Department of Finance Canada mobilises FINTRAC and financial institutions in a follow-the-money strategy against extortion
The Department of Finance Canada outlined a national “follow-the-money” strategy to better detect, disrupt, and prevent extortion by strengthening financial intelligence collection and sharing, with a focus on Québec and Montréal. The initiative mobilises the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada through embedded liaison officers, reprioritised analytical resources, a new Countering Extortion Partnership, and targeted guidance, producing a more than threefold increase in extortion-related financial intelligence disclosures. It aligns with broader federal measures, including CAD 1.7 billion in additional Royal Canadian Mounted Police capacity, work toward a new Financial Crimes Agency by spring 2026, and Bill C-12 reforms to increase anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing penalties.