(Toronto) Canada’s financial intelligence agency imposes a penalty of 1.3 million on the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) for non-compliance with measures to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
This sanction, imposed on October 23 and announced Thursday, is the second that the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) announces this week, after the fine of 7.4 million to the Royal Bank of Canada, made public on Tuesday.
FINTRAC says it imposed the sanction because CIBC failed to submit a suspicious transaction report when there were reasonable grounds to suspect that the transactions were related to money laundering or illegal activity. terrorist, and because it failed to report information relating to large money transfers from outside Canada.
The agency attempts to track down funds linked to illicit activities by electronically sifting through millions of records provided each year by banks, insurance companies, money services companies and others.
FINTRAC specifies that it found, during its 2021 review, a case where CIBC did not file a suspicious transaction report despite knowing that the client had been arrested and charged with criminal offences, while the The agency’s review also found more than a thousand cases, out of a sample of 20,000, where information relating to money transfers was incomplete.
Sarah Paquet, director and president and CEO of the agency, indicated in a press release that these rules are in place to protect Canadians and the economy.
“We will firmly ensure that businesses continue to do their part and that we will take appropriate measures if necessary,” she said.
CIBC spokesperson Tom Wallis responded in a statement, saying the bank had robust anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing procedures and practices in place.
He added that the administrative issues were linked to a relatively small number of transactions that the bank has since resolved and that it continues to invest in monitoring and detection capabilities.
“We take our responsibilities seriously and will continue to identify, investigate and do our part to deter and detect financial crimes,” Mr Wallis said.
FINTRAC clarified that CIBC had paid its penalty in full and that the procedures were completed.
The Royal Bank, which was hit with the highest penalty ever imposed by the agency, was found guilty of failing to submit 16 suspicious transaction reports out of 130 examined, even though there were reasonable grounds to suspect that the transactions were linked to money laundering or terrorist financing.
During the 2022-2023 fiscal year, FINTRAC issued six notices of non-compliance to companies for a total of $1,113,569 in penalties.
FINTRAC has imposed more than 125 penalties in various sectors since it received legislative authority to do so 15 years ago.
Other banks are also facing increased scrutiny of their supervisory programs, including TD Bank Group, which revealed earlier this year that it expected U.S. regulators to impose penalties related to its anti-money laundering compliance program.