Second annual FINTRAC-FinCEN symposium

The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Canada’s Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) – the financial intelligence units (FIUs) of the United States and Canada – hosted the second annual FINTRAC-FinCEN Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Symposium on September 15 and 16 in Washington, DC. The event brought together FIUs, law enforcement, and government officials from the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK, along with financial institutions from the US and Canada. Building on last year’s inaugural Symposium in Ottawa, participants discussed key issues related to money laundering and terrorist financing.

FinCEN and FINTRAC reaffirmed their commitment to jointly addressing global security challenges. The Symposium covered a range of threats, including the misuse of cryptocurrency by transnational criminal groups, professional money laundering networks, fentanyl trafficking, human trafficking, and online child sexual exploitation. FinCEN and FINTRAC also acknowledged rising threats posed by Chinese money laundering networks.

Public-private partnerships

Through its public-private partnerships – Project Guardian, Project Protect, and Project Shadow – FINTRAC continues to collaborate with FinCEN to produce actionable financial intelligence aimed at addressing these threats.

• Project Guardian: Led by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, this initiative brings together Canadian financial institutions, money services businesses, FINTRAC, and law enforcement to combat illicit fentanyl trafficking. It has resulted in a significant increase in suspicious transaction reports related to fentanyl.
• Project PROTECT: Initiated by Peter Warrack of Bank of Montreal, supported by FINTRAC, and launched in 2016, this project enhances financial intelligence to aid investigations into human trafficking. FINTRAC issued an operational alert to increase awareness and highlight indicators to help businesses detect and report suspicious activity tied to human trafficking.
• Project Shadow: Created by Scotiabank and co-led with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P), this project targets money laundering linked to online child sexual exploitation. With FINTRAC’s support, the project aims to improve detection and reporting of financial activity tied to this crime.

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