(Ottawa) The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) says many notices from Canada’s Financial Intelligence Agency about possible crimes may not be investigated due to a lack of police resources and conflicting priorities.
The federal police admit this bluntly in a briefing note prepared for the Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, on the working relationship between the national police and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada, known under the name of Fintrac.
The Canadian Press used the Access to Information Act for the memo, which was approved by RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki on 1er last September.
The RCMP receives financial intelligence from Fintrac in two ways that could shed light on money laundering or terrorist activity financing.
The first is to respond to a voluntary information file, which informs Fintrac of potential criminal activity and which could induce the center to release information relating to suspects.
The second is obtained through proactive disclosures by Fintrac when they indicate possible criminal activity from analysis of information the center receives from banks, casinos and other organizations.