TITLE: Canada's Financial Intelligence Unit Imposes Administrative Monetary Penalty on Money Services Business
BODY:
On May 14, 2026, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) announced that it had imposed an administrative monetary penalty of $693,742.50 on 13010431 Canada Inc., operating as Necosmart, a money services business based in Edmonton, Alberta. The penalty was issued on March 27, 2026, following a compliance examination that identified multiple violations of Part 1 of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and associated Regulations.
FINTRAC identified five key administrative violations committed by Necosmart: failure to submit suspicious transaction reports on multiple occasions where reasonable grounds existed to suspect transactions were related to money laundering or terrorist financing offences; failure to develop and apply written compliance policies and procedures approved by a senior officer; failure to adequately develop and apply enhanced measures to mitigate high-risk transactions and clients; failure to assess and document the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing offences considering prescribed factors; and failure to maintain sufficient occupation and transactional information for virtual currency exchange transaction tickets.
As Canada's financial intelligence unit and anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing supervisor, FINTRAC enforces compliance obligations across multiple business sectors, including casinos, financial entities, money services businesses, and real estate brokers. Administrative monetary penalties are designed to encourage compliance behaviour change. In 2024–25, FINTRAC issued 23 Notices of Violation totalling more than $25 million, marking the highest number in a single year in the Centre's history. Since receiving legislative authority in 2008, FINTRAC has imposed more than 150 penalties across most business sectors.
REFERENCES:
Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. "FINTRAC imposes an administrative monetary penalty on 13010431 Canada Inc." News release, May 14, 2026. https://www.fintrac-canafe.gc.ca