Canada’s financial intelligence agency is warning that unregistered money-transfer services are ripe for abuse by criminals trying to launder cash and fund terrorist activities.
In a new advisory on the risks of underground banking, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, known as Fintrac, says everyone from students to seniors could be duped into helping disguise shady cash through such services.
Fintrac identifies money linked to illicit activities by electronically sifting millions of pieces of information each year from money-services businesses, banks, insurance companies, securities dealers, real estate brokers, casinos and others.
In turn, it discloses intelligence to police and other law-enforcement agencies about the suspected cases.
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