Side view profile of man is sitting on windowsill while leaning on glass and holding laptop on knees. He is looking at screen while thoughtfully touching his chin

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.

To keep members apprised of recent legislative and regulatory changes affecting the profession, we are publishing a short series of articles identifying some of the key requirements that accountants and accounting firms should be aware of.

Since 2019, there have been some important changes brought to the AML/ATF legislation and the Criminal Code to deter non-compliance with the legislation and associated regulations. There are 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

These changes are discussed in this article as well as our earlier publications in the Anti-money Laundering/Anti-terrorist Financing (AML/ATF) Developments series:

Links to FINTRAC guidance documents related to the topics covered in the articles have been provided and accountants and accounting firms are encouraged to keep abreast of upcoming changes and additional information as announced by FINTRAC.

Reading time: Approximately 15 minutes