Last Friday, the federal Liberal party released a housing plan for the upcoming elections. The party announced 17 promises and one of those was a promise to create a federal financial crime agency to investigate and combat major financial crimes. Among those crimes, money laundering in real estate was included.
This is not a new idea. In 2014, the casino sector in Canada proposed the creation of a federal financial crime center. With the support of a law enforcement agency and casino government regulator, the proposal was eventually sent to the federal government.
Although the proposal gained popularity, it was eventually shelved.
Now, a new federal agency may be created. In order to live up to the expectations, the new agency will need to be sufficiently financed. It will need to have enough staff to do its job as well. The agency will need to be located in a location with significant financial crime activity in order to be effective. Some of the cities that many experts think of are Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
Also, the agency needs to be led by financial, crime and law experts who can detect and successfully combat crime. With proper resources, strong support from the state, and skilled staff, the agency could make some huge changes.
It could also combat terrorist financing threats from Iran and Afghanistan for example. The agency will be also able to combat foreign dirty money and interrupt these criminal channels.
