Commercial Crime Branch

Counterfeiting

Commercial Crime Sections are mandated to conduct investigations of counterfeit currency incidences of national or international significance pursuant to the Criminal Code. Priority is given to occurences where organized crime groups are involved in the production or high volume distribution.

Investigations include:

• offences related to the counterfeiting of currency (e.g., bank notes, coins, tokens of value) as set out in Part XII of the Criminal Code
• offences not included in Part XII of the Criminal Code, but involving the manufacture, possession, and/or distribution of counterfeit or altered payment cards, cheques, bonds, or other negotiable instruments

in which one or more of the following elements are present:

• organized crime involvement
• substantial value or financial losses
• high degree of criminal sophistication
• requirement for special technical or investigative expertise
• satisfying public or national interest

Counterfeit Analysis Program

The Counterfeit Analysis Program (CAP) is a support service that operates under the guidance of Commercial Crime Branch. The program provides counterfeit currency intelligence and analytical support to Canadian law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation of counterfeit currency offences. CAP personnel work closely with the Bureau for Counterfeit and Document Examinations and the Bank of Canada in identifying regional and national trends as well as areas of concentrated counterfeit currency activity.