The Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) of Canada was adopted on 29 June 2000. Amendments to the PCMLTFA received Royal Assent on 14 December 2006.
The purpose of this Act is to facilitate combatting the laundering of proceeds of crime and combatting the financing of terrorist activities, to establish the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada and to amend and repeal certain Acts in consequence.
More precicely, and according to Art. 3, the objects of the Act are:
- to implement specific measures to detect and deter money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities and to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of money laundering offences and terrorist activity financing offences, including
- (i) establishing record keeping and client identification requirements for financial services providers and other persons or entities that engage in businesses, professions or activities that are susceptible to being used for money laundering or the financing of terrorist activities,
- (ii) requiring the reporting of suspicious financial transactions and of cross-border movements of currency and monetary instruments, and
- (iii) 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 deprive criminals of the proceeds of their criminal activities, 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 activity.
