Canada's Department of Finance announces implementation of AML and counter-terrorist financing regulatory amendments including new information-sharing and expanded sector coverage

Canada’s Department of Finance has announced the upcoming implementation of regulatory amendments to strengthen the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing (AML/ATF) framework, with measures aimed at trade-based financial crime, private-sector intelligence sharing, beneficial ownership transparency, and closing gaps in coverage for certain financial services providers. The package includes enhanced authorities for the Canada Border Services Agency to better detect, deter, and disrupt trade-based financial crime; a new framework enabling private institutions to share information related to money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion; and a requirement to report discrepancies between information provided to private institutions and the federal beneficial ownership registry maintained by Corporations Canada. The amendments also extend AML/ATF obligations to factoring companies, cheque cashing businesses, and financing and leasing companies. Separately, provincial and territorial civil forfeiture offices are set to begin receiving financial intelligence disclosures from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) starting April 1, 2025, and the Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs will update directives associated with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation to address potential sanctions evasion. The department noted that the amendments were pre-published in the Canada Gazette on November 30, 2024 for consultation.