FINTRAC makes changes to reporting forms

As part of an ongoing effort to strengthen Canada's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime, the Federal Government has introduced various amendments to the regulations made under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTF Act). These amendments aim to enhance the effectiveness of the financial system in combatting illicit activities. In conjunction with these efforts, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) has implemented a schedule to introduce changes to its reporting forms.

Financial transactions reported to FINTRAC

Pursuant to the PCMLTF Act and its associated regulations, reporting entities have an obligation to report to FINTRAC certain financial transactions. The reporting entities satisfy this reporting requirement by submitting the following applicable reports:

• Suspicious transactions reports: A suspicious transaction report must be submitted when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a transaction is related to the commission or attempted commission of a money laundering or terrorist activity financing offence.
• Large cash transactions reports: A large cash transaction report must be submitted when a reporting entity receives $10,000 CAD or more in cash in the course of a single transaction or when it receives two or more cash amounts totalling $10,000 CAD or more made within 24 consecutive hours by or on behalf of the same person or entity.
• Large virtual currency transactions: A large virtual currency transaction report must be submitted when a reporting entity receives virtual currency in an amount equivalent to $10,000 CAD or more in the course of a single transaction, or when it receives two or more amounts of VC, that total the equivalent of $10,000 CAD or more within a consecutive 24-hour window, by or on behalf of the same person or entity, or for the same beneficiary.
• Electronic funds transfer reports: An electronic funds transfer report must be submitted for the instructions to transfer $10,000 CAD or more out of, or into, Canada in a single transaction; or in two or more transactions totalling $10,000 CAD or more made within 24 consecutive hours by or on behalf of the same person or entity.
• Casino disbursements reports: A casino disbursement report must be submitted by a casino when it makes a disbursement of $10,000 CAD or more in the course of a single transaction, or upon making two or more disbursements totalling $10,000 CAD or more within 24 consecutive hours that are received by or on behalf of the same person or entity.
• Terrorist property reports: A terrorist property report must be submitted as soon as a reporting entity discovers in its possession or control the existence of property that they know is owned or controlled by or on behalf of a terrorist group or a listed person.

Schedule to implement changes to reporting forms

As of 2020, FINTRAC has designed and implemented changes to its reporting forms. In 2020 and 2021, FINTRAC introduced changes to the Large Virtual Currency Transaction Report form. Between ‎2022 and 2024, FINTRAC is focusing on updating and modernizing the Large Cash Transaction Report, Suspicious Transaction Report, Electronic Funds Transfer Report, and Casino Disbursement Report. The following table highlights FINTRAC’s implementation schedule as of May 2023:

Forms	Anticipated Implementation Date	Anticipated Release Date
Large Virtual Currency Transaction Report ‎	July 2022	Updated form released in June 2021
Large Cash Transaction Report	July 2022	October 21, 2023
Suspicious Transaction Report	June 2023	April 6, 2024
Electronic Funds Transfer Report	September 2023	TBD
Casino Disbursement Report	October 2023	TBD

 

Subject to limited exceptions, reporting entities should continue to submit their reporting forms through FINTRAC’s web reporting system. A reporting entity that has not already done so, must enroll with FINTRAC to obtain access to the system. Reporting entities can learn more and evaluate their understanding of the new reporting forms by submitting test reporting forms through FINTRAC’s Report Ingest Test API platform. Testing is currently available for Large Virtual Currency Transaction Reports and Large Cash Transaction Reports. FINTRAC invites reporting entities to create the required application to get access to the Report Ingest Test API.

Interim reporting measure for foreign money services businesses

In addition to the above changes, foreign money services businesses (FMSBs) subject to the PCMLTF Act should be aware of FINTRAC’s interim reporting measure related to Electronic Funds Transfers Reports. Currently, the FINTRAC web reporting system does not allow FMSBs to submit Electronic Funds Transfer Reports using an address outside of Canada. To resolve this issue, the interim reporting measure instructs FMSBs to temporarily create a new location on the “Location information page” of the web reporting system. This measure is anticipated to last until FINTRAC releases its changes to the Electronic Funds Transfers Report‎ form.

Conclusion

The recent changes made to FINTRAC’s reporting forms in Canada aim to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. The revisions reflect the evolving nature of financial crimes and need for more comprehensive reporting mechanisms. By enhancing clarity, accuracy, and accessibility of the reporting forms, FINTRAC aims to safeguard the integrity of Canada’s financial system.

For further information on how these changes may impact you, please speak with one of our Financial Services group team members.