The first thing you see at 422 Richards St. in downtown Vancouver is a vegan pudding shop.But on paper, this three-story building — once a bank — is also home to 76 foreign currency dealers, 8 money transfer businesses and 6 registered cryptocurrency exchanges.An IJF and CTV National News investigation has found 422 Richards St.
One of those addresses is 500-7030 Woodbine Ave. in Markham, Ont., which is the listed location for 97 MSBs. The manager told CTV News that “fraudulent people know that business centers are easy prey because they can use that address and it's a legitimate registered business address but they're not paying to use it”
An IJF and CTV News analysis of Fintrac’s registry, though, found many of those companies are registering in spaces already occupied by at least one other MSB. But Minna Van, The Network Hub’s co-founder, says most of the 90 MSBs registered to her company’s address on paper have no relationship with her business.
The IJF and CTV News asked the provincial ministry of finance if companies who use Van’s address without permission are breaking the law. Fintrac stipulates that registering does not mean a company is compliant. And German pointed out that Fintrac has neither the mandate nor the resources to vet every MSB.
At the same time, Iuso said, Fintrac saw a sharp spike in the number of MSBs registering, in part because of a cryptocurrency investment boom. In 2020, 865 new MSBs registered with Fintrac, compared to 411 the previous year. Some anti-money laundering experts think it’s time for change. Denis Meunier, a former deputy director of Fintrac, said the IJF and CTV’s findings suggest that company service providers should be subject to Canada’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws, something the federal government has contemplated in the past.
“We do have more work to do here in Canada, both in terms of ensuring we have the tools we need to crack down on fraud and money laundering and also that enforcement agencies across the country are doing their jobs,” Freeland said.British Columbia is already working on new provincial rules for MSBs — but it’s not clear when they’ll actually take effect.
“We want to make sure they are available to those who need them while keeping bad actors out of the industry,” Conroy wrote. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500-million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.Jasper mayor says alert system to be reviewed after message 'glitch' An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.With soccer growing in popularity in Sudbury, some with experience in the sport are with confusion and disappointment to the recent news out of the Olympics.
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