| In Canada, as of June 23/08, sellers (who are listing a property for sale) and buyers (signing an offer to purchase ) are now required to show a photo identification (at the time of signing) to the real estate salesperson or broker who is now required to record on a form called:
“CLIENT INFORMATION RECORD”
the details from the photo I.D. as well as the person’s occupation. This information must be retained in the Real Estate Broker’s company files as a private record for FINTRAC review (if needed) regarding verification of the identity of persons buying or selling real estate in Canada.
Canada’s federal law, THE PROCEEDS OF CRIME (MONEY LAUNDERING) AND TERRORIST FINANCING ACT has established an administration called FINTRAC (The FINancial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada) which currently has a staff of over 300 people (head office in Ottawa with Regional Offices in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal) to administer the requirements under Canada’s federal law which now affects NOT ONLY real estate brokers (as of June 23/08) but also has already covered the banking industry, life insurance companies, security dealers, foreign exchange businesses, accountants and casinos.
Worldwide, it is established that the equivalent of about $500 BILLION (U.S.) is laundered each year and most industrialized countries over the last several years have established new laws in order to fight both money laundering and suspected terrorist financing activities on both the domestic and international levels.
To find out more about Canada’s laws on money laundering and terrorist financing, visit FINTRAC’s website
www.fintrac.gc.ca
or call toll free: 1-866-346-8722
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