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Front companies being used to launder illicit cannabis cash: intelligence agency

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OTTAWA — Canada’s financial intelligence agency says a wide range of businesses — from food wholesalers to electronics repair services — are being used to disguise the proceeds of illicit cannabis operations.

In a new operational alert, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, known as Fintrac, warns banks and others that handle cash to be on the lookout for various clues that dealings are linked to the black-market pot trade.

Canada legalized the recreational use of cannabis four years ago and set out a legal framework for production, sale and possession of the drug.

However, 37 per cent of respondents to the federal government’s 2021 cannabis survey said they obtained some or all of their pot from illegal or unlicensed sources.

Fintrac says the illicit cannabis market denies public coffers significant tax revenue, while profits in the tens of millions of dollars are used by organized crime groups to finance other illegal and harmful activities.

“If you’re purchasing cannabis illegally online, you are in fact providing money to organized crime,” said Barry MacKillop, deputy director of intelligence at Fintrac.

Crime groups will then disguise that money and use it to purchase cocaine or guns, traffic people, exploit children and snap up real estate, he said.

As a result, whether Canadians know it or not, they’re helping finance other criminal activity in their communities, “which is making themselves and their neighbours unsafe, in terms of where they want to live and how they want to live,” MacKillop said.

Fintrac worked with law enforcement and Canada’s major banks to develop the operational alert to advance Project Legion. The project, a public-private partnership led by Toronto-Dominion Bank, aims to build awareness of the harm associated with the shady cannabis trade and better detect the laundering of proceeds.

Fintrac tries to uncover evidence of money laundering and terrorist financing by sifting through suspicious transaction reports supplied by more than 24,000 businesses — from banks and money-transfer services to real estate brokers and casinos. In turn, it passes the resulting financial intelligence to police and security agencies.

Fintrac also uses analytical techniques to help pinpoint emerging trends and tactics.

The agency analyzed a sample of about 5,000 suspicious transaction reports, received from March 2020 to March 2021, related to illicit cannabis activities. While the majority of these involved the suspected sale and distribution of pot from unlicensed online dispensaries, some were tied to the possible production of illicit weed.

Front companies used most frequently to launder proceeds included e-commerce businesses in the beauty and wellness industry, food and beverage wholesalers, automotive-related businesses, electronics repair services, construction-related firms, and those in marketing, advertising and consulting.

“Often there were little to no business-related transactions in the accounts held by these front companies which were owned by suspected distributors and producers of illicit cannabis, their associates and other members of their networks,” the operational alert says.

“Many of these individuals owned more than one business and would transfer funds between their business and personal accounts and those of their associates, with no clear purpose.”

The analysis yielded several indicators, or red flags, that could suggest laundering of cannabis proceeds. Fintrac cautions that a single indicator might not initially appear suspicious, but could prompt a look at other facts, contextual elements or additional indicators that may heighten concerns.

Indicators tied to the cultivation, processing and preparation of illicit pot included large purchases at hydroponics retailers and unusual utility payments, such as multiple individuals paying off the same hydro account, or over-the-counter payments in cash.

Among the indicators linked to online unlicensed cannabis dispensaries:

— Client receives a large number of email money transfers from seemingly unrelated third parties;

— transaction details make reference to terms such as weed, pot, bud or leaf;

— numerous purchases at packaging, shipping or mail service businesses; and

— the wholesale purchase of humidity-controlled packaging from specialty suppliers.

In some case, networks of numbered companies operated possible passthrough accounts for an unlicensed dispensary, the alert says. Although these entities were listed in very different industries, they were linked through financial flows, shared electronic money transfer contact information or the same authorized signatories.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the phenomenon to some degree because “everybody was purchasing everything online when things were closed,” MacKillop said. “And this was just another way that organized crime could exploit that and use the online presence to sell their illegal cannabis.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2022.

 

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press

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Liberals plan to give $250 cheques to millions of Canadians, cut GST over holidays

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OTTAWA – The Liberal government plans to temporarily lift the federal sales tax off a slew of items just in time for Christmas and send cheques to millions of Canadians this spring, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Thursday.

“Our government can’t set prices at the checkout, but we can put more money in people’s pockets,” Trudeau said at a press conference in Toronto alongside Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. 

“The working Canadians rebate of $250 which will be sent to people in April, is going to give people that relief they need, and the tax break over the next two months is going to help on the costs of everything as we approach the holidays, as we get into the new year.”

The GST break would begin Dec. 14 and end Feb. 15. The Liberals say it will apply to a number of items including children’s clothing and shoes, toys, diapers, restaurant meals and beer and wine.

It also applies to Christmas trees — both natural and artificial — along with a variety of snack foods and beverages, and video game consoles.

Canadians who worked in 2023 and earned less than $150,000 would also receive a $250 cheque in the spring.

About 18.7 million people will receive the cheques, costing the government about $4.7 billion, while the GST break is expected to cost another $1.6 billion.

The measures come as an inflation-driven affordability crunch has left voters unhappy with the Trudeau government. 

High inflation has also put pressure on the Liberals to avoid introducing measures that would stimulate spending and fuel price growth.

However, the prime minister dismissed the idea that this move could raise inflation again, noting that price growth and interest rates are down.

“It allows us to make sure that we are putting money in people’s pockets in a way that is not going to stimulate inflation, but is going to help them make ends meet and continue our economic growth,” Trudeau said. 

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre blasted the NDP and Liberals and called the tax break a “trick.”

“Today, what we have is a two-month temporary tax trick that will not make up for the permanent quadrupling of the carbon tax on heat, housing, food and fuel,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre was referring to the Liberal plan to continue increasing the carbon price annually until 2030.

The Conservatives have pledged to scrap the federal fuel charge, which is applied on the purchases of 21 different fuels. Proceeds from the federal consumer carbon price are returned to Canadians and small businesses through rebates.

Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the federal government took the rebate idea from his playbook. Last month, the province announced it was sending out $200 cheques to all Ontario taxpayers and their children as part of its own suite of measures designed to ease the effects of the affordability crisis.

“We came up with the $200 rebate, but you know what the federal government can do is scrap the carbon tax,” he said. “I mean, that is taking money out of people’s pockets.”

In order to get the measures passed through Parliament, the Liberals will need the support of an opposition party. The NDP appears poised to be a willing partner, taking credit for forcing the minority government to adopt its idea — although NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh insisted Thursday there was no negotiation between the parties.

Last week, the NDP promised it would issue a permanent GST break for essential items if it wins the next election, and late Wednesday Singh said in a statement that his party won a “tax holiday” for Canadians.

“The Prime Minister’s Office just informed us that he’s caving to our Tax-Free-Essentials campaign — partly,” Singh said in the statement.

Singh wanted to permanently remove the GST from essentials including diapers, prepared meals, cellphone and internet bills. That was expected to cost $5 billion, but he was also urging provincial governments to match the plan with cuts to provincial sales taxes.

The changes proposed by the Liberals will be part of the annual fall economic statement, which will need to pass through Parliament in order to take effect.

The House of Commons has been embroiled in a stalemate for nearly two months as the Conservatives filibuster a motion demanding the government release unredacted documents related to misspending at a green tech fund. 

That means no legislation has been debated or voted on for more than eight weeks, because matters of privilege take precedence over all other House business.

The NDP says it will not end the privilege debate. Instead, a spokesperson for the party says it will use a procedural measure to adjourn that debate for one day at a time to allow the tax measures to pass. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.



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Climate protesters arrested outside Pierre Poilievre’s official residence in Ottawa

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OTTAWA – Ottawa police say two people were arrested this morning after an “unlawful” demonstration outside Stornoway, the official residence the Opposition leader.

Greenpeace Canada says its activists blocked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s house and two of them locked themselves to a replica oil pumpjack placed in the driveway.

The non-profit has been critical of Poilievre’s climate change voting record and his advocacy for the oil and gas sector.

Ottawa police say in a statement that about 12 people gathered outside Stornoway shortly after 7 a.m., blocking access to the residence with a “structure” and “not allowing the family to pass.”

Police say two of the demonstrators refused to comply with “repeated” orders to remove themselves from the structure and were arrested. 

They say charges are pending against the two men who were due to appear in court today. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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N.S. Liberals say if elected next week they would move fast to cut taxes, build homes

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HALIFAX – If Nova Scotia’s Liberal Party is elected to govern on Tuesday, leader Zach Churchill says that within the first 100 days he would call for a meeting of the Atlantic premiers to discuss replacing the federal carbon tax.

Speaking at a news conference Thursday at Liberal campaign headquarters in Halifax, Churchill said he would try to sell the other premiers on his plan to use a regional cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions. 

Churchill has said newly elected New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt is interested in the idea, though she has yet to commit to such a plan. He said there’s an opportunity persuade Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Mark Furey.

“We know it isn’t the right policy for pollution pricing in Atlantic Canada,” said Churchill, who has distanced himself from Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government introduced the carbon price.

“We’ve got four governments that do not want the carbon tax, and we have an alternative that can lower prices at the pump while doing our part to reduce emissions.”

He acknowledged that if the federal Liberals lose the election slated for next year, the carbon tax will likely be eliminated, negating the need for a cap-and-trade system.

Churchill said that within 100 days of taking office, a provincial Liberal government would also alert Ottawa to its plan to reduce the harmonized sales tax to 13 per cent from 15 per cent; appoint a minister of women’s health; and recall the legislature to table a budget with income tax cuts and plans to build 80,000 new homes.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s three main political leaders were scheduled Thursday to take part in a “roundtable discussion” organized by CTV News in Halifax. Churchill was expected to be joined by Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston, who is seeking a second term in office, and NDP Leader Claudia Chender.

The 90-minute exchange, moderated by CTV News anchor Todd Battis, is to be televised at 6:30 p.m. local time. 

Last Thursday, the leaders appeared together on CBC TV, and they also sparred during an event hosted earlier this week by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.

At dissolution, the Progressive Conservatives held 34 seats in the 55-seat legislature and the Liberals held 14 seats, while the NDP had six and there was one Independent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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