By Terrance S. Carter, Nancy E. Claridge and Sean S. Carter

Amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 1 (SOR/2024-266 and SOR/2024-267) on January 1, 2025, introduce substantial changes to address money laundering and terrorist financing risks through five separate measures, addressing international obligations. The proposed regulations were previously discussed in the January 2025 Charity & NFP Law Update. Highlights of the amendments are outlined below.

Sanctioned Property Reporting: The sanctioned property regime was announced in Budget 2023 obligating the financial sector to report sanctioned property-related information to FINTRAC. Pursuant to Recommendation 6 on financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing and Recommendation 7 on targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation, the FATF requires that all member countries have legislation or regulations in place to ensure that financial institutions and certain professions are implementing United Nations (UN) mandated lists. As Canada does not have a standardized process for sanctioned property reporting, these regulatory amendments are introduced to fill the gap. Reporting entities must provide detailed information on property ownership, transaction histories, and parties with interests or control over such property.

MSB Registration Framework: MSBs must register with FINTRAC, submitting corporate documents, ownership structures, and criminal record checks biennially for CEOs, presidents, directors, and owners with 20% or more control. Agents or mandataries must also undergo these checks

Real Estate – Title Insurance: Noting that fraud is on the rise in the real estate sector, title insurers now fall under AML reporting requirements, necessitating compliance programs, identity verification, transaction reporting to FINTRAC, and maintaining records related to title insurance sales.

Real Estate – Unrepresented Parties: Real estate brokers and sales representatives must now identify all unrepresented parties in transactions, replacing the previous requirement to take “reasonable measures.”

White-Label ATMs: White-Label ATM service providers must register as MSBs, establish AML compliance programs, and maintain comprehensive records, including details on machine ownership, cash sources, settlement accounts, and cash transportation methods.

Effective Date: Many of these regulatory changes take effect only when corresponding provisions of related statutes, such as the Budget Implementation Act, 2023 and the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, come into force. Given the staggered implementation timelines, readers should consult the regulations directly for details on when specific provisions will take effect. FINTRAC will release guidance ahead of this date to assist entities in understand and implement their new obligations. Those these regulations are not specific to charities and not-for-profits, these types of organizations should remain aware of Canada’s ever-changing AML/ATF regime.

​Read the February 2025 Charity & NFP Law Update