Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada cited in RCMP charges over unregistered money services businesses tied to CAD 47 million laundering scheme

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Federal Financial Crime Team announced charges against a British Columbia resident in an interprovincial money laundering investigation, including a charge for failing to register a money services business with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. The RCMP alleges the accused laundered proceeds from illicit cannabis sales between September 2018 and August 2020 using online transactions across Alberta and British Columbia, as part of a criminal organization that allegedly laundered about CAD 47 million. Investigators described a network of Alberta and British Columbia numbered companies operating as unregistered money services businesses that received, transferred or converted proceeds of crime, including via tens of millions in e-Transfer payments. The accused was charged with laundering proceeds of crime, failing to register a money services business with FINTRAC, two counts of committing an offence for a criminal organization, and unauthorized possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling. The release also notes that five individuals were previously charged and convicted for failing to register with FINTRAC, with conditional sentences and forfeiture orders exceeding CAD 50,000 to more than CAD 155,000. The accused is scheduled to appear in Vancouver Provincial Court on January 31, 2025. A sixth individual charged with failing to register a money services business with FINTRAC is scheduled to stand trial at the Alberta Court of Justice in Edmonton on November 3, 2025.