FINTRAC publishes terrorist activity financing indicators in its new Operational Alert — FINTRAC — CA

News Release

December 15, 2022
, Ottawa Ontario

FINTRAC published today a new Operational Alert, Terrorist Activity Financing, to assist businesses subject to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act in identifying and reporting suspicious transactions and terrorist property to FINTRAC.

Based on a strategic analysis of the Centre’s financial intelligence disclosures from 2019 to 2022, FINTRAC determined that terrorist activity financing with a Canadian nexus was primarily focused on domestic terrorism, the financing of international terrorist groups and Canadian extremist travellers.

The majority of FINTRAC’s disclosures associated with domestic terrorism, where the target of terrorism was in Canada, were related to ideologically motivated violent extremism and involved lone actors, cross-border networks and organized groups, including entities listed under the Criminal Code . The Centre’s analysis revealed that ideologically motivated violent extremism financing activity included actors located and operating in Canada.

FINTRAC also found that transactions relating to the financing of international terrorist groups consisted primarily of outgoing funds transfers to another country, particularly jurisdictions of concern for terrorist activity financing, and the most frequently identified international terrorist entities were Daesh and Hizballah.

The terrorist activity financing indicators in FINTRAC’s new Operational Alert are meant to be assessed by businesses in combination with what they know about their client and other factors surrounding the transactions to determine if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a transaction or attempted transaction is related to the commission or attempted commission of a terrorist activity financing offence and should be reported to FINTRAC.

With the reporting received from businesses subject to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, FINTRAC is able to generate actionable financial intelligence for Canada’s police, law enforcement and national security agencies.

Quote

“We are committed to working with our federal partners, law enforcement across the country, Canadian businesses and our international allies to combat the financing of terrorist activities here in Canada and around the world. As the threat from terrorism continues to evolve, it is more important than ever that we follow the money to effectively target these heinous crimes and keep Canadians safe.”

Quick Facts

As Canada’s financial intelligence unit and anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regulator, FINTRAC ensures the compliance of more than 24,000 businesses subject to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and generates actionable financial intelligence for Canada’s police, law enforcement and national security agencies.

With the information that FINTRAC receives from its regime partners and businesses across the country, the Centre produces valuable strategic intelligence in the fight against money laundering and terrorist activity financing. Through the use of analytical techniques, FINTRAC is able to identify emerging characteristics, trends and tactics used by criminals to launder money and fund terrorist activities.

In 2021–22, with the information that it received from Canadian businesses, FINTRAC provided 355 disclosures of financial intelligence in support of investigations related to terrorist activity financing to Canada’s law enforcement and national security agencies, adding to the more than 4,500 disclosures that the Centre has provided in relation to terrorist activity financing since becoming operational in 2001.

In total last year, the Centre provided 2,292 financial intelligence disclosures in support of investigations related to money laundering, terrorist activity financing and threats to the security of Canada.

In 2021–22, FINTRAC’s financial intelligence contributed to 335 major, resource-intensive investigations, and hundreds of other individual investigations at the municipal, provincial and federal levels across the country.

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