Risky business: Non-compliance with anti-money laundering requirements
Learn about important changes brought to the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/ATF) legislation and the Criminal Code to deter non-compliance by all reporting entity sectors, including accountants and accounting firms.
The risks and consequences of non-compliance in the AML/ATF landscape have increased in intensity since 2019, when important changes were brought to the AML/ATF legislation and the Criminal Code. Here are the three important factors in the AML/ATF landscape that have increased the risks and consequences of non-compliance:
- the scope of regulatory changes associated with the AML/ATF legislation that have come into force since 2019 and, for accountants and accounting firms especially, the changes that have now come into force on June 1, 2021
- the issuance and publication of an administrative monetary penalty for a violation of the AML/ATF legislation
- the change of the definition to Section 462.31 of the Criminal Code that now lowers the threshold for law enforcement and prosecutors to pursue money-laundering charges by adding a “recklessness” provision to the definition of money laundering
Key takeaways:
- penalty ranges for different categories of violations
- what FINTRAC’s assessment manual indicates on voluntary self-declarations of non-compliance
- how “recklessness” is defined under the new subsection of the criminal code
Reading time: Approximately 15 minutes