Canada Faces Global Financial Crime Audit After Major TD Bank Fine
Canada is undergoing a major global financial crime audit after TD Bank’s record money laundering fine, with international reviewers examining how well the country enforces anti money laundering rules
Canada is facing a major international review of its efforts to stop money laundering, and the process has created concern among government officials and the country’s financial sector.
According to Reuters, a team of global financial crime auditors visited Canada in November and interviewed several banks and 13 government agencies over three weeks.
The review is being carried out by the Financial Action Task Force, also known as FATF. This organisation evaluates how well countries prevent illegal money flows. Normally, the review happens once every ten years, but this time the process is receiving extra attention because of recent scandals.
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One of the biggest issues is the record fine paid by TD Bank. The bank was fined 3 billion dollars in the United States for failing to stop hundreds of millions of dollars linked to drug trafficking and other criminal networks. The review also comes at a time when Canadian authorities have filed new charges against Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder who is accused of running a major cocaine trafficking operation.
Experts say a negative FATF report could hurt Canada’s reputation and make foreign investors more cautious. This could be a setback for Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is trying to strengthen the economy and reduce Canada’s dependence on the United States.
Canada was criticised in its last FATF review in 2016 for weak tracking of companies and their real owners. Since then, the country has introduced new rules and increased penalties. Canada’s financial intelligence agency, FINTRAC, has imposed more than 200 million Canadian dollars in fines in recent years.
Criminal Intelligence Service Canada estimates that up to 113 billion Canadian dollars is laundered through anonymous companies in the country every year. This amount is equal to about 5 percent of Canada’s economy.
Despite these concerns, analysts believe Canada is unlikely to be placed on FATF’s grey list, which includes countries that require extra monitoring. The final FATF report on Canada is expected in mid 2026.
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