Federal anti-money laundering authorities are seeking to sanction Toronto-based money services business Juba Express Inc. for alleged compliance violations.
On Thursday, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) announced that it levied an administrative monetary penalty of $67,150 on the firm — which is in the business of facilitating international money transfers — after a compliance review found five alleged violations of the anti-money laundering rules.
The company is appealing FINTRAC’s decision to the Federal Court.
The alleged violations include three breaches that FINTRAC deemed “serious” — including that it failed to properly assess money laundering risks, failed to develop adequate compliance policies and failed to submit accurate registration information — and a couple of other violations that it characterized as “minor.”
While the agency found that the firm did have written compliance policies and procedures, FINTRAC alleged that it didn’t adequately monitor its business relationships on an ongoing basis, or keep client information up to date, potentially exposing it to the risk of not complying with its reporting obligations.
In terms of its risk assessment practices, FINRA said the company did have a documented a risk assessment, but it alleged that it “was not tailored to reflect Juba Express Inc.’s operations or updated over time,” according to a notice from the agency.
“Failing to assess and document the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing prevents reporting entities from identifying areas of its operations that are vulnerable to being exploited for these purposes, and prevents appropriate mitigation measures from being put in place,” FINTRAC noted.