Anti-money laundering efforts boost intelligence

• Efforts by Canada’s anti-money laundering agency to pinpoint illicit dealings of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other extremist organizations helped spark an increase in intelligence disclosures to police and spies last year.

The Ottawa-based Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, or Fintrac, passed along 483 pieces of intelligence related to terrorist financing in 201516, a 43 per cent increase over the previous year.

The centre tries to zero in on cash linked to terrorism and money laundering by sifting through millions of pieces of information annually from banks, insurance companies, securities dealers, money service businesses and others.

The centre’s annual report, tabled Thursday in Parliament, says Fintrac contributed to international efforts to weaken ISIL’s financing capabilities.

The financial sleuthing agency also focused on ISIL’s affiliates, particularly in relation to how these groups “may be attempting to exploit Canada’s financial system,” the report says.

Overall, Fintrac disclosed 1,655 pieces of intelligence to police and security agencies such as the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service last year, up from 1,260 in 2014-15.

There was a significant increase in the number of requests from international partners to explore a possible nexus between people in Canada and suspected terrorists elsewhere in the world, Fintrac director Gerald Cossette said in an interview.