Exchange Bank of Canada fined $2.46M by Fintrac for anti-money laundering failures

TORONTO — Canada’s financial intelligence agency says it has imposed an administrative penalty of $2.46 million against Exchange Bank of Canada for non-compliance with money-laundering rules.

Fintrac says it found Exchange Bank of Canada failed to submit suspicious transaction reports when there were reasonable grounds to do so, failed to conduct ongoing monitoring of business relationships and failed to report $10,000 or more in cash in a single transaction.

In a review of conduct between the end of 2022 and April 2024, it says it found the bank’s compliance program had “not sufficiently evolved to an acceptable level of maturity.”

Fintrac says the bank has filed a notice of appeal on the decision.

Sarah Paquet, chief executive of Fintrac, says the organization will be firm in ensuring businesses continue to do their part in complying with rules under the process of crime and terrorist financing act.

Money-laundering issues have garnered increased attention following the revelation that TD Bank Group’s oversight failures in the U.S. allowed criminals to launder hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal drug proceeds through the bank.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2024

The Canadian Press