Money Laundering Crackdown Urged

Money-laundering crackdown urged
By CP

VANCOUVER -- Canadian regulators and police need a high-profile case to help signal to money
launderers that they are serious about stopping them from doing business in this country, a top
forensic accountant says.

"We have less of an enforcement mentality here than they do in countries like the United States and
the United Kingdom and we haven't really seen any high profile cases of large financial institutions
being reported in Canada," said Jim Hunter, a partner with KPMG specializing in forensics.

HIGH-PROFILE ENFORCEMENT

"Until people read something in the newspaper, I don't think they're going to take it seriously,"
Hunter said.

"We need some high-profile enforcement action in Canada and then people will take it seriously and
then money launderers will think maybe Canada is not the place for me."

About 80 of KPMG's senior forensic accountants from around the world hold their annual meeting today
in Vancouver.

Hunter said that money launderers and those that finance terrorism will always take the path of
least resistance.

"They always seek the soft underbelly," he said.

TERROR-RELATED CASH

"We've got a fairly lenient sentencing regime in Canada. If you're caught money laundering here,
you'll probably get less time in jail than you would in the United States."

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (Fintrac) has suggested that terror related
cash washing through Canada in the fiscal year ended March 31 was likely twice the previous year's
estimated total of $70 million.

However, the federal watchdog suggests the increase likely reflects better detection rather than a
growing terrorist threat.