Canada’s financial intelligence unit has imposed administrative monetary penalties against two jewellers for violating the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA).
Earlier this month, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) fined a jeweller in Saskatchewan and another one in Toronto for $13,500 and $12,750, respectively. And now Jewellers Vigilance Canada (JVC) and Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) want the jewellery industry to know non-compliance is not an option.
“By now, all dealers in precious metals and stones (DPMSs), in other words, jewellers, should have an anti-money laundering/terrorist-financing compliance regime completed for their business and be undergoing required reviews,” said JVC executive director Phyllis Richard.
The two jewellers fined were found to have the following deficiencies:
- Failure to develop and apply written compliance policies and procedures;
- Failure to assess and document the risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing; and
- Failure to develop and maintain a written, ongoing compliance training program.
In addition to the fines, FINTRAC has posted the jewellers’ names on its website, where they will remain for five years.
For more information, visit http://www.jewellersvigilance.ca/html/jvc_aml.htm or https://canadianjewellers.com/news-initiatives/jewellery-industry-advocacy/anti-money-laundering-act-laws-regulations/
