Money Mules: Canada Being Used By Foreign Students To Launder Money

[G.L.R.]

'Money mules': Foreign students tied to money laundering in Canada, says Fintrack report

August 24, 2022

According to the Canadian Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis  Center (FINTRAC), some international students have been implicated in  money laundering activities for organized criminal networks operating in  Canada, including students from China and Hong Kong... is carried out in three main centers in  Canada: the Greater Toronto Area, Metro Vancouver, and  Calgary-Edmonton. The report said IVTS are often affiliated with and operated by  migrant migrant communities that send and receive legitimate money  between community members and migrant workers... "China and Iran, for example, are subject to these sanctions and have  long established expatriate communities in Canada, particularly those  in Metro Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area... "Many of the suspected 'money mules' are international students  receiving wire transfers from individuals and entities in China and Hong  Kong... "It appears that  these funds flow through personal and business accounts with little  information about the source." Suspicious Money Mule accounts received large amounts  of third-party cash deposits and emailed money transfers that do not  align with the customer's profile. 

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"These funds were rapidly depleted, primarily via outgoing email  money transfers and bank drafts to unrelated third parties. These funds  were used for investment, real estate and the purchase of vehicles to be  shipped to West Africa and Asia... "This technology leverages the bank accounts of a number of unintentional third parties to facilitate the deposit of cash derived from criminal activity. ... These individuals often had  convenience stores, holding companies, manufacturing and general  contracting companies, and import-export businesses that shared  addresses or telephone numbers with MSBs.  ... Many of these businesses obtained funds from  entities linked to organized crime, drug trafficking or law enforcement  investigations into money laundering and sanctions evasion,". "The suspicious transactions highlighted a normal flow of funds from  Iran and China to these Canadian entities, primarily through the United  Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Qatar. ... Read more ...

'Money mules': Foreign students tied to money laundering in Canada, says Fintrack report - Funancial News
https://funancial.news/money-mules-foreign-students-tied-to-money-laundering-in-canada-says-fintrack-report