Mr. Chair, I am Stéphane Bonin, Director of the Criminal Investigations Division of the Canada Revenue Agency.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today about our participation in Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime.
The criminal investigations program's mandate is to ensure that significant cases of tax evasion are investigated and, where appropriate, referred to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada for criminal prosecution. We use a risk-based approach for file selection...significant cases of tax evasion with an international element; promoters of sophisticated and well-organized tax schemes aimed at defrauding the government; joint financial crime cases with other law enforcement agencies, including cases involving money laundering and terrorist financing; and significant or material cases involving income tax or GST evasion, including the underground economy.
From a broader perspective, offshore tax evasion, which also may lead to money laundering charges, has become more complex, global, and aggressive, thereby presenting increased challenges to tax administrations around the world. To address these new challenges, the criminal investigations program went through a complete business transformation in 2013-14, going from 32 small offices across Canada to six large offices. The objective of that transformation was to strategically position its 600 resources in larger units across the country, with offices in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. Now with a greater critical mass of investigators in larger centres being closer with our primary partners, such as the PPSC and the RCMP, CRA criminal investigations...are now well positioned to meet current and future challenges.
As an example, the CRA criminal investigations division recently executed three search warrants, during the course of an offshore tax evasion criminal investigation related to the data leak from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, made public in the Panama Papers.
Approximately 30 CRA criminal investigators, assisted by members of the RCMP, took part in the operation that unfolded in Calgary, west Vancouver, and the greater Toronto area. The CRA’s investigation identified a series of transactions involving foreign corporations and several transfers through offshore bank accounts used allegedly to evade taxes.
In our media release, the CRA publicly acknowledged the significant contribution of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, or FINTRAC, to this criminal investigation.
This example demonstrates the effectiveness of various regime partners working together. Domestically, the CRA collaborates with FINTRAC and law enforcement agencies to ensure the effective use of financial intelligence in its criminal investigations. As my colleague Mr. Manconi mentioned earlier, the CRA receives disclosures from FINTRAC when it suspects that information would be relevant to money laundering and also to tax evasion.
To conclude, Mr. Chairman, tackling this global problem of tax evasion and money laundering takes a firm commitment and the effective use of tools and partnerships to identify and bring into compliance those who try to cheat and misuse the system, which is why the CRA’s Criminal Investigations Program remains a committed partner in the anti-money laundering regime and will continue to investigate those taxpayers who participate in money laundering related to tax evasion.
I look forward to your questions.