New anti-money laundering (AML) rules will come into effect in less than a year and Canada's CAs had better be aware. If they are involved with the proceeds of crime — even unintentionally — the penalties could be severe. Starting June 2008, Canada's AML regulations will be as stringent as others in the world. The new laws notwithstanding, criminals will continue to try to hire reputable and unsuspecting accountants — CAs, CMAs or CGAs — to establish lawful businesses for converting proceeds of crime into legitimate assets. Should accountants be susceptible to "willful blindness" when accepting clients and/or fees, this could be construed as an act of complicity if a "dishonest" situation were the result. Accountants also run risks if they do not report or are alerted to situations where they ought to have had some suspicions about their client(s) and/or the business.
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