Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act 

The Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act was amended in December, 2001 to become the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA).

The object of the PCMLTFA is:

• to implement specific measures to detect and deter money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities to facilitate the investigation or prosecution of money laundering and terrorist financing offences, including
  • establishing record keeping and client identification requirements for financial services providers and other persons that engage in businesses, professions or activities that are susceptible to being used for money laundering, and the financing of terrorist activities, 
    (Obtain more information on who has to report to FINTRAC?)
  • requiring the reporting of suspicious financial transactions and of cross-border movements of currency and monetary instruments, and
  • establishing an agency that is responsible for dealing with reported and other information;
• to respond to the threat posed by organized crime by providing law enforcement officials with the information they need to investigate and prosecute money laundering or terrorist financing offences, while ensuring that appropriate safeguards are put in place to protect the privacy of persons with respect to personal information about themselves; and
• to assist in fulfilling Canada's international commitments to participate in the fight against transnational crime, particularly money laundering and the fight against terrorist activities.

Recent amendments

Amendments to the PCMLTFA received Royal Assent on December 14, 2006. The amending Bill C-25 can be consulted on the Parliament of Canada Web site.

Some of those amendments are now in force. Those which came into force in February 2007 have been incorporated in the office consolidation mentioned below. However, amendments coming into force on June 30, 2007 have not yet been incorporated. This will be done as soon as possible.

Most of the amendments affecting reporting entity obligations are not included in the consolidation as they are not yet in effect. More details about these changes are available in the related Regulations published in June 2007.

Reference

The office consolidation of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PDF version, 263 Kb) takes into account amendments to the law from Bill C-25 that came into effect on February 10, 2007. This document is intended for reference only. Amendments coming into effect on June 30, 2007 have not yet been incorporated. This will be done as soon as possible.

More changes will come into effect on June 23, 2008 and these will be reflected in the office consolidation once they are in effect.

Please consult the Justice Canada Web site for THE OFFICIAL version of the law.