FINTRAC Glossary

A-D

Alternative remittance system (ARS)
Service (ou système) parallèle de remise de fonds (SPRF)

Operates in parallel to a formal banking system and is generally a trust-based network of people regarded as discreet and reliable, and in which the name of the system is usually based on geographical location and ethnic group. Examples include:

Hawala / Hundi – operating in India, Asia, United Arab Emirates and the Middle East
Columbian Black Market Peso – operating in South America
Fei ch'ien – operating in China
Phoe kuan – operating in Thailand
Chiti – operating in China

See also IVTS.

Al-Qaida Al-Qaïda: Islamist militant ideological terrorist network.

Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF)
Lutte contre le blanchiment d'argent et le financement d'activités terroristes

Bank secrecy laws
Lois sur le secret bancaire: Legal principle under which banks are allowed to protect personal information about their customers (i.e. maintain anonymity of the account holder) through the use of numbered bank accounts, and hereby, limiting information shared with third parties, including tax autorities or foreign governments.

Chiti: IVTS that operates primarily in China.

Columbian Black Market Peso
échange de pesos sur le marché noir de Colombie: IVTS that operates primarily in South America.

Compliance Conformité: The state of being in accordance with relevant federal or jurisdictional authorities and their requirements.

Conduit Instrument: With respect to money laundering and terrorist financing, financial institutions and non-financial businesses and professions that are used by money launderers and terrorist financiers to place and move their funds.

Country (location) of concern Pays qui est une source de préoccupations: With respect to terrorist financing, a location that is a known base of operation or a known location of support for a specific terrorist group, or a country that is known to have weak AML/CTF regulations.

Customer due diligence (CDD) Vigilance à l'égard de la clientèle (VEC): Measures to identify and verify customers, and monitor customer transactions.

Designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) Entreprises et professions non financières non désignées (EPNFD): Includes casinos, real estate agents, dealers in precious metals and stones, trust and loan company service providers, lawyers, notaries, other legal professionals and accountants.

"Dirty money" « Argent sale »: Illicit funds acquired by criminals through illegal activities.

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E-H

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) Centre d'analyse des opérations et déclarations financières du Canada (CANAFE): Canadian financial intelligence unit created to collect, analyze and disclose financial information and intelligence on suspected money laundering and terrorist financing activities.

Fei ch'ien: IVTS that operates primarily in China.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Groupe d'action financière (GAFI): Inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

FATF 40 + 9 recommendations Recommandations du GAFI (40 + 9): Series of 40 + 9 recommendations developed by the FATF for universal application. Forty recommendations set a framework for anti-money laundering (AML) and nine special recommendations provide additional guidance on counter-terrorist financing (CTF).

Financial intelligence (FI) Renseignement financier: The gathering of information (patterns and trends) about financial transactions that may hide criminal schemes.

Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Unité du renseignement financier (SPRF): National governmental agencies mandated to receive reports, analyze and disseminate financial information and intelligence on suspected money laundering and terrorist financing activities.

Homegrown terrorists Terroristes locaux: Self-radicalized individuals or groups who are living in a country but, for whatever reason, come to view their home country as the enemy.

Hawala: IVTS that operates primarily in India, Asia, United Arab Emirates and the Middle East.

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I-L

Informal value transfer system (IVTS) Service (ou système) parallèle de remise de fonds (SPRF)

Hawala / Hundi – operating in India, Asia, United Arab Emirates and the Middle East
Columbian Black Market Peso – operating in South America
Fei ch'ien – operating in China
Phoe kuan – operating in Thailand
Chiti – operating in China

See also ARS.

Integration stage étape de l'intégration: Third stage in traditional money laundering process that involves placing the laundered proceeds back into the economy to create the perception of legitimacy.

Intermediaries Intermédiaires: Corrupt professionals (e.g. lawyers, accountants, bankers, politicians, etc.) who perform fraudulent transactions on behalf of money launderers and terrorists.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Fonds monétaire international (FMI): International organization that oversees the global financial system by observing exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering financial and technical assistance.

Know Your Customer (KYC) Connaître son client: Due diligence measures to identify and verify customers, as well as ongoing monitoring of customer transactions (for example, checking that your customer's activities are in line with the identity he/she has claimed).

Large cash transaction report (LCTR) Déclaration d'opérations importantes en espèces (DOIE): Report issued to financial intelligence unit when deposited or transferred funds are above the jurisdiction's transaction reporting threshold.

Layering stage étape de la dispersion: Second stage in traditional money laundering process that involves converting the proceeds of a crime into another form to disguise the audit trail and avoid detection.

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M-P

Money laundering (ML) Blanchiment d'argent: Any act or attempted act to disguise the source of money or assets derived from criminal activity.

Money services businesses (MSB) Entreprises de services monétaires (ESM)

Nominees Prête-noms: Family members, friends or associates who conduct transactions on behalf of money launderers.

Non-cooperative countries and territories (NCCT) Pays et territoires non coopératifs (PTNC): As listed by the FATF, countries and territories that are not cooperating in the adoption and implementation of measures for the prevention, detection and punishment of money laundering and terrorist financing according to internationally recognized standards.

Phoe kuan: IVTS that operates primarily in Thailand.

Placement stage étape du placement: First stage in traditional money laundering process that involves placing the proceeds of crime (usually large amounts of cash) into the financial system.

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Q-T

Radicalize Radicaliser: Make more radical (extreme) in social or political outlook.

Reporting entity (RE) Entité déclarante: Individual, company or other entity that provides a designated service as defined by national AML/CTF policies. Reporting entities include financial entities (e.g. banks), foreign exchange dealers, money services businesses, accountants, securities dealers, casinos, life insurance, and real estate.

Reporting threshold Seuil de déclaration: Determined nationally, the minimum amount of money deposited or transferred requiring that a large cash transaction be reported to the FIU.

Risk-based approach (RBA) Approche axée sur les risques

In the context of money laundering and terrorist financing, a risk-based approach (RBA) is a process that encompasses the following:

The risk assessment of your business activities using certain factors;
The risk-mitigation to implement controls to handle identified risks;
Keeping client identification and, if required for your sector, beneficial ownership information up to date; and
The ongoing monitoring of financial transactions that pose higher risks.

Smurfing Schtroumpfage: Inconspicuous individuals who make deposits, withdrawals or transfers of cash at various institutions on behalf of money launderers.

Suspicious transaction (ST) Opération douteuse: Suspicious transactions are financial transactions that there are reasonable grounds to suspect are related to the commission of a money laundering or terrorist financing activity offence.

Suspicious transaction report (STR) Déclaration d'opérations douteuses (DOD): Document completed to report a transaction suspected to be related to the commission of a money laundering or terrorist financing offence.

Terrorist financing (TF) Financement des activités terroristes: The use of funds to encourage, plan, assist or engage in acts of terrorism.

Typologies: Methods and trends used by money launderers and terrorist financers to move their funds.

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U-Z

United Nations (UN) Organisation des Nations Unies (ONU): International organization that facilitates cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social development and human rights issues.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Bureau du contrôle des drogues et de la prévention du crime des Nations Unies (BCDPC): International organization responsible for coordinating and providing effective leadership for United Nations drug control activities. UNODC analyzes information provided by Member States on their current drug abuse situation and their counter-measures.