The more than US$3-billion settlement TD Bank Group has reached with U.S. regulators for its failures to oversee money laundering risks has underlined what some say are relatively weak enforcement options in Canada.
Denis Meunier, president of DMeunier Consulting Inc. and a former deputy director of Fintrac, says fines in Canada have to increase significantly to provide adequate deterrence and not become just a cost of doing business.
He says the federal government should add substantial fines for gross negligence and increase administrative penalties as fines in Canada haven’t risen since 2008.
In Canada, Fintrac can level a maximum fine of $500,000 for each very serious reporting violation, or it can refer violations to potential criminal prosecution….