QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Financial System
October 22, 2024
Senator Gold, on October 10, TD Bank pled guilty to criminal charges of money laundering in the U.S. after allowing hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit funds to flow through the bank. TD will pay over US$3 billion, the largest penalty ever imposed under the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act.
According to a 2020 Criminal Intelligence Service Canada report, an estimated $45 billion to $113 billion is laundered in Canada each year. The last CBC business article noted that TD’s troubles shine a spotlight on the difference between the way the U.S. holds financial institutions accountable for illicit transactions and the gaps in Canada’s own regulatory system that allows financial crime to flourish.
How is the Government of Canada responding to the bank’s money laundering activities in the U.S.?
Thank you for your question, senator. I can assure you that the Minister of Finance takes the stability and integrity of our financial system most seriously. She — along with other relevant agencies — is monitoring the situation very closely.
In particular, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has stated that they are monitoring the situation with TD Bank closely and that the information disclosed by U.S. authorities is, indeed, very serious. The government will continue to support Superintendent of Financial Institutions in their work to protect the integrity of Canada’s financial system.
Considering that banks are unable to comply with mandatory disclosure regimes with rigorous oversight such as the Bank Secrecy Act in the U.S. or that the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada has fined TD and other Canadian banks on similar issues, why does the Canadian government expect our banks to comply with voluntary disclosures such as the one of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, or TCFD?
Thank you. The government expects all banking and financial institutions to comply with the rules that they have taken on and to serve with integrity the best interests of Canadians and our financial system.
As I said, the superintendent is monitoring this situation carefully, and the government is as well.
