Thank you, Chair. It is in fact Global Affairs Canada, but we have many names from the past and we recognize them all. Thank you for your memory of this last name.
It's my pleasure to be here before you and this committee for your review and to support this review. As the chair said, my name is Jamie Bell. I'm the Executive Director of the International Crime and Terrorism Division at Global Affairs Canada.
Criminals and terrorists do not respect national borders. Transnational crime and terrorism as well as terrorist financing and money laundering are global problems that require global solutions. As a result, Global Affairs Canada is an active partner in the broader efforts of the Government of Canada to counter illicit financial flows.
Although Global Affairs Canada does not have direct responsibilities under the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act, and it does not receive funding through Canada's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime, our activities support the regime's goals of detecting and deterring money laundering and terrorist financing.
Given the international nature of money laundering and terrorist financing, any country that does not have adequate means for prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and sanctioning perpetrators may cause risk to other countries.
To help countries fill those gaps, Canada provides technical assistance through funding projects around the world.
Global Affairs Canada is responsible for two programs that contribute to enhancing the capacity of beneficiary states to fight terrorism and transnational organized crime through the provision of technical assistance. These two programs are the anti-crime capacity-building program and the counterterrorism capacity-building program.
Both of these programs reflect a whole-of-government approach, drawing on the expertise of Government of Canada departments and agencies to effectively deliver security capacity-building to beneficiary states, supporting them to better manage and respond to security threats.
These programs also aim to contribute to Canada's national security and protect Canadian interests, such as the safety of Canadians abroad, the provision of a more stable international environment for Canadian commerce and trade, and an increase in Canada's international reputation.
The capacity building programs currently have 13 operational projects valued at nearly $11 million focused on or targeting money laundering and terrorist financing.
Assistance on money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism is provided through a number of different service providers, but primarily through projects implemented by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. In some cases, the anti-crime capacity-building program and the counterterrorism capacity-building program also fund technical assistance provided directly by other government departments and agencies, with recent projects implemented by FINTRAC and the RCMP, for example.
These capacity-building projects that Canada has supported have helped to, among other things, improve prevention and detection of money laundering and terrorist financing; enhance quality, timeliness, and volume of reportable data from reporting entities; equip law enforcement agencies in targeted countries with skills and knowledge to conduct financial investigations and profiling, including freezing, seizing, and confiscation of assets; and improve the understanding of legislative provisions in national legal frameworks related to countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Also of interest to this committee will be the role that Global Affairs Canada plays in the domestic implementation of Canada's international legal obligations with regard to terrorist financing. We oversee the listing regime associated with the United Nations Security Council resolution 1267 through the United Nations al Qaeda and Taliban regulations.
The United Nations al Qaeda and Taliban regulations were created in 1999 under Canada's United Nations Act to implement the UN Security Council resolution 1267 and its successor resolutions, which require states to freeze the assets of the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, his associates, and members of al Qaeda and prevent the supply, sale, and transfer of arms and technical assistance to them.
Once an individual or an entity is added to the UN's consolidated list, all federally regulated financial institutions are obligated to comply and have a duty to determine whether they are in possession of or in control of the relevant property and to report this to their principal regulator. These include asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes.
Finally, Global Affairs Canada also contributes to Canada's engagement at a number of international fora where money-laundering and terrorist financing issues are addressed, including the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the Counter-ISIL Finance Group, as well as in a number of bilateral consultations.
For each of these fora, GAC coordinates with Finance Canada and other regime partners to ensure that Canada's domestic anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism—AML/CFT—policies are accurately represented at international meetings and that regime partners are kept apprised of relevant developments at these meetings.
Thank you for your attention today. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions on my department's role in this regime.