Toronto (October 18, 2001) Canada’s professional advisors
are preparing for new regulations to prevent money laundering. Members of the Canadian
Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (CAIFA) will be gathering in Toronto on
Monday at the Sheraton Centre Hotel to attend a special session on the new regulations,
which are scheduled to come into effect this fall. Advisors who don’t comply with the new
rules would face a $500,000 fine and up to five years in jail.
The Money Laundering session is part of CAIFA’s 2001
National Conference which kicks off on Sunday, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel. The session
will take place in the Grand Ballroom on Monday, October 22, 2001 at 1:30 p.m.
The keynote speaker is Chris Mathers, a former member of
the RCMP who operated an undercover money laundering business in Canada and the United
States. He is now president of KPMG Corporate Intelligence. He will brief conference
attendees on the new rules and how they will affect professional advisors.
The United Nations defines money laundering as “any
act or attempted act to disguise the source of money or assets derived from criminal
activity.” Essentially, money laundering is the process where “dirty money”
produced through criminal activity is transformed into “clean money,” the
criminal origin of which is difficult to trace.
Financial advisors can unknowingly be party to money
laundering if they fail to recognize a suspicious transaction and report it. Key areas of
discussion at the session will include: advisors’ new obligations under the regulations;
how money laundering really works; how to recognize a suspicious transaction; and the most
popular laundering techniques.
CAIFA’s National Conference will take place on Sunday, October 20 to the 23rd
and is open to professional members of CAIFA as well as non-members.
The Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial
Advisors (CAIFA) is a voluntary, not-for-profit professional association whose
members, gathered in 51 chapters, are represented in most major cities and towns across
the country. CAIFA is a founding member of the Financial Planners Standards Council
(FPSC), the body that grants the CFP designation. CAIFA members provide financial advice,
and market and sell financial products to over nine million Canadians.
KPMG is the accounting, tax and financial advisory firm
that understands the needs of business in the global economy. KPMG LLP is the Canadian
member firm of KPMG international, a Swiss association. KPMG International’s member firms
have more than 100,000 professionals, including 7,000 partners in 155 countries.For more
information, check the firm’s Web site: www.kpmg.ca
For more information about CAIFA, please visit our website at
www.caifa.com.
For more information, regarding KPMG LLP, contact: Julie
Bannerjea, Media Relations, 416-777-3243 or cell phone: 416-527-1804.
