British Columbia’s anti-money-laundering agency has imposed a nearly $58,000 penalty on a Vancouver real estate broker for breaching a number of regulations.
The penalty, announced Thursday but imposed May 23, was handed to The Centre Pacific Project Marketing Corp., a broker that lists its offices in Vancouver’s West End.
The broker was found to be in non-compliance of a number of regulations connected to money laundering and the Terrorist Financing Act, according to a notice posted to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC),
Those included failure to appoint someone to implement a compliance program and failure to develop policies and procedures that would allow it to report suspicious transactions, terrorist property and verify clients’ identities, among other procedures.
The broker also failed to develop and maintain a written ongoing compliance training program and maintain client records.
And in another breach, the company was found not to have assessed and documented money laundering or terrorist financing risks connected to geographic locations, new technologies, products and delivery channels, as well as clients and business relationships.
It's not clear if the breaches are related to specific transactions or who many have been on the other side of them.
Sarah Paquet, FINTRAC’s director and CEO, said it is committed to work with businesses to help them comply with their legal obligations. She said that Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws are in place to safeguard Canadians and the country’s economy.
“We will also be firm in ensuring that businesses continue to do their part and we will take appropriate actions when they are needed,” said Paquet in a statement.
After capturing financial intelligence, FINTRAC discloses that information to police and national security agencies to help them combat money laundering, terrorist activities and threats to Canada’s security.
A number of businesses are required to report to FINTRAC, including casinos, money services businesses, real estate brokers and sales representatives, among others.
Since 2008, the centre has imposed more than 125 penalties.
