Canada amends money laundering legislation

The Criminal Code has been amended in Canada to add money laundering prosecution changes, while the authorities discuss further recommendations.

Canada.- The government has changed the Criminal Code offence of money laundering and expanded the reach of the Law. Furthermore, several recommendations crafted in recent months also await approval in the country.

The regulation changes criminalise moving money on behalf of someone despite money laundering suspicions. Should someone ignore the risk, they would be guilty, officials in the federal Finance Department said in a written statement.

“This change modernises Canada’s money laundering criminal offences to be consistent with key allies (e.g. U.K. and Australia) and provides an additional tool to disrupt and more effectively investigate and prosecute money laundering, particularly when dealing with sophisticated actors such as professional launderers,” Finance Department spokesman Greg Sommerville said.

Canada also considers other recommendations produced in the past 18 months. 120 recommendations were filed, but only 19 have been approved so far.

“Canada has fallen so far behind for so many years, we’re playing catch-up,” executive director of Transparency International Canada James Cohen said.