Independent audit operation

The August DEA report, Money Laundering in Canada, says Canadian drug traffickers intent on using casinos to launder their proceeds begin by purchasing chips or opening an account at the gambling establishment. The trafficker gambles, but is careful to lose only a relatively small sum of money, the report notes. Gambling activities that are authorized in Canada are regulated, including provincially operated gambling websites. Casinos, similar to banks and other areas of the Canadian economy traditionally viewed as vulnerable to money launderers, are closely regulated with respect to money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Investigators into money laundering in British Columbia said they went looking for a minnow but found a whale—or a whole group of whales, allegedly including casino high rollers. But gaming industry officials say the casinos reported the incidents as required to law enforcement, and cleaned up their house years ago.

The Canadian province of Québec is launching an independent audit to investigate the possibility of money laundering and other criminal activities at publicly owned casinos. Québec Finance Minister Eric Girard announced the move on Monday.

An external auditor will head the investigation into four local casinos operated by the state corporation Loto-Québec. As well as looking at money laundering and criminal practices such as loan sharking, the audit will review the loyalty programs at the casinos to make sure they are not rewarding gamblers who earn money from illegal activities.

Casino de Montréal “rolled out the red carpet” for organized crime bosses

The catalyst for the operation came in the form of local news reports claiming that one government-run property, Casino de Montréal, “rolled out the red carpet” for organized crime bosses pre-pandemic, awarding them VIP comps like free meals, show tickets, and hotel rooms.

Loto-Québec clarifies facts

Loto-Québec – which operates the casinos in the province, including Casino de Montréal – issued two statements about the recent allegations and subsequent inquiry.

On December 1, it clarified some facts in response to the publication of relevant articles in Le Journal de Québec and Le Journal de Montréal. The statement outlined the reasons why the operator had received an administrative penalty from the Financial Transactions and Report Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) in 2012, following a compliance review. One of the failings observed was that the casino operator had not reported a questionable transaction at the Casino de Montréal to FINTRAC.

After Loto-Québec legally challenged the findings of the initial review in court for a number of years, FINTRAC revised the financial penalty in March 2020 to CA$147,015 (US$113,625). Loto-Québec paid the penalty, stating that it wished to have a collaborative relationship with FINTRAC in its money laundering crackdown. Details of the fine remained confidential until November 6.

Last week, the corporation said it is actively working to combat money laundering, and that it has procedures in place to ensure that it complies with all relevant regulatory requirements.

What local news reports said

Local media published reports about the alleged links between Québec casinos and organized crime in recent weeks. French-language news channel TVA reported that Montréal mob boss Stefano Sollecito was one of the top ten gamblers at the Casino de Montréal, spending as much as CA$2.5m (US$1.9m) in 2014 and 2015.

The newly announced inquiry is the latest money laundering scandal involving Canadian casinos. There have also been extensive investigations in British Columbia regarding the alleged use of local casinos for money laundering purposes.

Is your casino operating in the European Union or in one of the OECD Country?

Most of OECD Countries, including EU, USA, Canada, and Australia have adopted Anti Money Laundering Law.

European Union IV Directive EU 2015/849 about the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering introduced an incumbent compliance requirement and very soon all National Governments of EU Countries will adopt a National Law to enforce European Union Directive and therefore all casinos must be compliant to AML Law.

Having a robust AML strategy and procedure and/or better installing a technological integrated system to detect and prevent Money Laundering illegal activities, methods and techniques will soon become critical for all Gambling Services Providers, including Casinos. Failure to comply could leave your business exposed to significant financial and administrative sanctions.

GTI Gaming is therefore pleased and proud to announce and inform all casinos owners and executives that GTI designed, implemented and developed specific AML functions and features of its Casino CIMS System, in order to be fully equipped to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to prevent, detect and report suspicious activity relating to money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes and to comply with the upcoming IV EU AML Directive, over all the other well known functions and features offered by GTI system.

Casino CIMS System 2.0 – AML compliance menu: features and functions

Money Laundering Stages

Player identification
Player casino chips transaction tracking and reporting
Player suspicious transaction alert and reporting

Trump Casino Money Laundering Charges

If you wish to know more about please contact us.