Fintrac imposes more than $600K penalty on First Nations Bank of Canada

Bank notes issued by the Bank of Canada are seen in a display case at the Bank of Canada Museum in Ottawa, on Sept. 4, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA — Canada’s anti-money laundering agency has imposed a penalty of more than $600,000 on First Nations Bank of Canada for violations under the country’s anti-money laundering laws.

Fintrac imposed an administrative penalty of $601,139.80 on Sept. 22 for five violations found during a compliance examination.

The regulator says the bank failed to submit suspicious transaction reports in 31 per cent of the case files it reviewed where there were reasonable grounds to suspect transactions were related to money laundering or terrorist activity financing.

It also said the bank did not develop and apply written compliance policies and procedures.

In addition, it says the bank failed to assess and document the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing and failed to take prescribed special measures with high-risk clients.

Fintrac also says FNBC failed to conduct ongoing monitoring of business relationships.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2025.