Canada’s financial intelligence unit has fined the New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation C$399,712.50 after a compliance examination found it did not meet its obligations under Part 1 of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and the related regulations. FINTRAC said the penalty has been paid in full and the case is now closed.
The regulator said the breach involved failing to submit suspicious transaction reports when there were reasonable grounds to suspect money laundering or terrorist activity. CBC reported that the matter was tied to suspicious activity involving Atlantic Lottery Corporation, and that spokespeople for the provinces said the fines were administrative and related to Atlantic Lottery’s online casino operations.
New Brunswick finance minister René Legacy said no evidence of money laundering was found. In a statement, he said the degree of real harm associated with the audit findings was minimal.
As reported in July, FINTRAC had already fined Atlantic Lottery Corporation C$212,025 over three compliance violations, and Atlantic Lottery said then that the findings were administrative and did not include allegations of money laundering, terrorist financing, criminal activity or willful misconduct.
FINTRAC said its anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist-financing regime is meant to protect Canadians, Canadian businesses and the integrity of the financial system. It said reporting obligations are designed to deter criminals and terrorists from operating in the legitimate economy and to give the agency the intelligence needed for law-enforcement and national-security investigations.
