Financial crimes investigations are long, complex and require sustained resources
As the United States retreats from financial crime enforcement — pardoning convicted money launderers and redeploying tens of thousands of investigators toward immigration — Canada is moving in the opposite direction, establishing a dedicated Financial Crimes Agency to unify the fragmented powers that have long allowed illicit money to flow unchecked through its institutions. The new agency, born from a public inquiry that found Canada lacked any cohesive anti-laundering strategy, would consolidate investigation and prosecution under one roof for the first time. It is a moment that reveals how neighboring democracies can read the same global threat — three trillion dollars in annual illicit flows — and arrive at profoundly different answers about the obligations of the state.
- Canada's existing financial intelligence system has spent twenty-five years identifying suspicious transactions only to hand them off to underfunded police forces ill-equipped to follow through, leaving billions in dirty money effectively uncontested.
- A public inquiry laid bare the absence of any unified national strategy against money laundering, creating political urgency for a structural solution rather than another incremental reform.
- Across the border, the Trump administration is pardoning Binance's CEO despite a $4.3 billion money-laundering penalty and quietly shifting more than 25,000 financial crime investigators toward immigration enforcement — a divergence that experts warn could push criminal networks northward.
- Canada is pairing its new enforcement agency with a ban on cryptocurrency ATMs, targeting the nearly 4,000 machines — more per capita than anywhere on Earth — that regulators say have become instruments of fraud and money laundering.
- The FCA's credibility will ultimately rest on sustained funding and genuine coordination with the RCMP, and analysts caution that without both, the agency risks becoming another well-intentioned institution that falls short of its mandate.
Canada is creating a new law enforcement body dedicated entirely to financial crime. The Financial Crimes Agency passed its first parliamentary reading this week, introduced by the governing Liberals with enough seats to move it through both chambers. Its defining feature is consolidation: the power to both investigate and prosecute financial crimes, authority that currently sits scattered across institutions that struggle to work in concert.
The impetus came from a public inquiry that exposed a fundamental gap — Canada had no unified anti-money-laundering strategy. Fintrac, the country's financial intelligence unit, has operated for over twenty-five years but can only gather intelligence and pass it along. Last year it identified $45 billion in suspicious transactions tied to money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion, but the handoff to police and prosecutors has repeatedly stalled. The RCMP has been hampered by insufficient funding, limited expertise, and competing demands. Former intelligence analyst Jessica Davis called the new agency a meaningful signal of seriousness, while acknowledging that the true scale of financial crime moving through Canadian institutions remains genuinely unknown.
Canada is also banning cryptocurrency ATMs — nearly 4,000 of them, more per capita than anywhere else on Earth — which regulators say have enabled both fraud and money laundering. Together, the two measures represent a comprehensive reckoning with illicit finance.
The contrast with the United States is stark. The Trump administration recently pardoned Binance's CEO despite his guilty plea to money laundering charges and a record $4.3 billion penalty against the company. Senior Democrats allege the administration has redeployed more than 25,000 personnel away from financial crime investigations toward immigration enforcement. Senator Elizabeth Warren called it a betrayal of ordinary Americans.
Davis noted that Canada and the US are now diverging sharply, and that what happens in American financial markets tends to ripple north — criminals exploit regulatory gaps across jurisdictions. Transparency International Canada's Salvator Cusimano called the FCA an ambitious but realistic first step, contingent on coordination with other enforcement bodies. Critical questions remain unanswered: where the agency will be based, how it will operate alongside the RCMP, and whether it will draw resources away from other units. Its long-term impact, analysts agree, will depend on sustained political will — a commitment that economic pressure from Canadians weary of financial predation may help sustain, but that will require constant reinforcement.
Canada is moving to establish a new law enforcement agency dedicated entirely to financial crime—a deliberate pivot that underscores how differently the country's government views the problem compared to its neighbor to the south. The Financial Crimes Agency, or FCA, passed its first parliamentary reading this week after being introduced by the governing Liberals, who hold enough seats to move the legislation through both chambers without obstruction. The agency will have powers to both investigate and prosecute financial crimes, a consolidation of authority that currently sits scattered across multiple institutions.
The push for this new body emerged from a public inquiry that exposed a troubling gap: Canada had no unified strategy to combat money laundering. The country's existing financial intelligence unit, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, or Fintrac, has been operating for more than twenty-five years but functions only as an intelligence gatherer. It identifies suspicious activity—last year uncovering $45 billion in transactions tied to money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion—then hands its findings to police and prosecutors. That handoff has created friction and delays. The RCMP, Canada's federal police force, has struggled to sustain complex financial crime investigations, hampered by insufficient funding, limited expertise, and competing priorities.
Jessica Davis, a former intelligence analyst with Canada's spy agency who now runs a consulting firm focused on illicit financing, called the new agency a meaningful investment that signals recognition of the challenge's seriousness. But she was candid about the gaps: the $45 billion figure uncovered by Fintrac could be drastically understated or overstated—nobody truly knows the full scope of financial crime moving through Canadian institutions. A 2024 global report estimated more than $3 trillion in illicit funds flowed through the world's financial system in a single year, with money laundering tied to human trafficking, drug smuggling, and terrorist financing creating what the US Treasury described as devastating economic and social harm.
Canada is also moving to ban cryptocurrency ATMs, which have become tools for both fraud and money laundering. The country hosts nearly 4,000 of these machines—more per capita than anywhere else on Earth—and regulators say they've enabled scammers to steal from victims and criminals to clean dirty money. The dual approach—a new enforcement agency plus stricter regulation of crypto infrastructure—reflects a comprehensive reckoning with financial crime that stands in sharp relief to what is happening across the border.
The Trump administration has taken the opposite course. The White House recently pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, despite his guilty plea to money laundering charges. Binance itself was ordered to pay a record $4.3 billion penalty for facilitating terrorist financing. Meanwhile, senior Democrats sent a letter to federal watchdogs alleging that the administration has shifted more than 25,000 personnel away from investigating fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering in favor of immigration enforcement. Senator Elizabeth Warren called the move a betrayal of ordinary Americans, saying the administration was treating white-collar criminals with leniency while diverting resources to pursue what she characterized as an inhumane immigration agenda.
Davis observed that Canada and the US are now diverging sharply on financial crime. The US remains ahead in prosecutorial capacity and resources, she said, but Canada is attempting to close the gap. The concern is that what happens in American financial markets tends to ripple northward—criminals exploit regulatory gaps and jurisdictional differences. A new Canadian agency, she suggested, could serve as a bulwark against that spillover. Anti-corruption groups have endorsed the move. Salvator Cusimano, executive director of Transparency International Canada, called it an ambitious but realistic mandate and a necessary first step, though he emphasized that the agency's success will depend on close coordination with other enforcement bodies across the country.
Unanswered questions remain. It is unclear where the FCA will be based, how it will operate alongside the RCMP, and whether it will cannibalize resources from other law enforcement units. Davis stressed that the agency's long-term impact will hinge on sustained political will and funding. Financial crime investigations are slow, complex, and resource-intensive. The public appetite for action is real—as economic pressures mount and Canadians struggle with the cost of living, tolerance for financial predation erodes. But maintaining that political commitment over years will require constant pressure on government to prioritize the work.
Notable Quotes
The fact we're actually seeing the creation of a new enforcement agency is a meaningful investment and hopefully signals the understanding of the seriousness of the challenge.— Jessica Davis, former intelligence analyst and consultant on illicit financing
The Trump administration is letting white-collar criminals off the hook for all kinds of wrongdoing. Instead of protecting American families from fraud and predatory behaviour, the administration is diverting resources to pursue its inhumane immigration agenda.— Senator Elizabeth Warren
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Canada need a separate agency when it already has Fintrac and the RCMP?
Because Fintrac only gathers intelligence and hands it off. The RCMP is supposed to investigate, but it's underfunded and overextended. Nobody owns the problem end-to-end. A dedicated agency with prosecution power can follow a case from start to finish.
What makes cryptocurrency ATMs such a problem?
They're fast, anonymous, and they convert digital money into cash with minimal friction. A scammer steals from you, moves the money through a crypto ATM, and walks away with untraceable cash. Same for criminals laundering proceeds from trafficking or drugs.
Is Canada really that far behind the US on this?
It's complicated. The US has more resources and experience, but it's also retreating right now. The Trump administration just pardoned a major money launderer and shifted 25,000 investigators away from financial crime. Canada is actually moving forward while America steps back.
What happens if the new agency doesn't get enough funding?
Then it becomes another underfunded unit with good intentions. The experts are clear: financial crime investigations take years and sustained resources. If the government loses interest or the money dries up, the whole thing collapses.
How does this affect ordinary Canadians?
When financial crime goes unchecked, criminals profit and victims lose. Fraud, money laundering from trafficking—these aren't abstract problems. They're happening in your community. A functioning enforcement agency makes it riskier to commit these crimes.