MONEY LAUNDERING TARGETED

Tough law would disclose large bank transactions

A tough law on money laundering that will require the reporting of
suspicious transactions of $10,000 or more is expected to be introduced in
the House of Commons as early as today, sources say.

And the law would require anyone entering or leaving Canada to declare
anything above $10,000 or risk having the undeclared money forfeited to
Canada Customs.

The new measures are intended to dramatically slash the $17 billion in money
laundered by organized crime in Canada annually.

An RCMP officer said the legislation is ``long overdue.''

``I think it will make a significant difference,'' Superintendent Ben Soave,
head of the RCMP's combined forces special enforcement unit, which includes
the criminal intelligence section, said yesterday.

Soave also expressed the hope the legislation will be user friendly.

``I hope it won't be so complicated that it will be difficult for officers
to apply in the course of criminal investigations,'' Soave said. ``We hope
it will be effective.''

Bankers are ready to co-operate, an official said.

``It has been long awaited by the banking industry,'' Gene McLean, director
of security for the Canadian Bankers Association, said yesterday.

McLean said the banking industry looks forward to ``working together (with
the government) to make it operate efficiently.''

Although the banks now have a volunteer reporting system in place, this law
will make reporting suspicious financial transactions of $10,000 and above
mandatory, sources say.

The law will affect banks, lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, stock
brokers, casinos and insurance companies, McLean said.

Such legislation will be ``a deterrent to organized crime,'' McLean said.
``Organized criminals will be less likely to consider bringing their money
to Canada,'' he added.

The new law would permit police to mobilize against money laundering.

The Proceeds of Crime legislation, introduced in 1989, only permits police
to seize assets of enterprise crime, as a result of a substantive offence,
such as drug trafficking, McLean explained.

With the current law there has to be a crime before police can seize money
or assets.

So if someone comes to this country with a suitcase of money, police can
seize it but have to return it if it is not directly related to a criminal
offence.

``The reporting of the suspicious financial transaction in banks will assist
the police in tracking money laundering activities,'' Soave said.

Last year Canada was criticized by the 40-nation Financial Action Task Force
at its meeting in Brussels for lagging behind in money-laundering
legislation, McLean said.

At this summer's meeting, McLean said, Canada ``will be looked at positively
because we have this legislation on the books.''

In March, U.S. banking regulators, responding to a public outcry over
privacy concerns, scrapped proposed anti-money-laundering rules that would
have tracked the transaction patterns of bank customers.