meta_id 3091885

On April 23, 2026, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) published a Special Bulletin on money laundering associated with extortion directed at Canada's South Asian diaspora. The bulletin is designed to assist businesses subject to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act in detecting extortion and reporting suspicious transactions and listed person or entity property reports to FINTRAC. Extortion poses a significant threat to Canadian communities and generates substantial profits for organized crime that are often laundered through the financial system. Since the beginning of 2026, FINTRAC has generated more than 100 financial intelligence disclosures related to extortion for law enforcement agencies across Canada, exceeding the number of extortion-related disclosures in the past two years combined. These disclosures have identified more than 300 subjects and included over 63,000 financial transactions. FINTRAC is supporting the Government of Canada's broader fight against extortion through its Countering Extortion Partnership, which includes deploying financial intelligence officers on the ground to engage with law enforcement agencies and sharing extortion-related trends and typologies with major banks and credit unions. The Centre has increased dedicated resources focused on generating timely and actionable financial intelligence for law enforcement to support investigations into criminal networks. In 2024–25, FINTRAC generated 6,236 financial intelligence disclosure packages in support of investigations into money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion and threats to Canadian security. Businesses subject to the act can report suspicious transactions related to extortion to FINTRAC through established reporting channels.