$190K in FINTRAC penalties assessed against 2 B.C. real estate brokerages

A representative with the Bank of Canada displays the new polymer $5 and $10 bank notes alongside the $20, $50, and $100 during a press conference at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 30, 2013. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press)

Canada’s federal anti-money-laundering regulator has imposed more than $190,000 in fines on two B.C. real estate companies.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada—better known as FINTRAC—announced the administrative monetary penalties against 1135233 B.C. Ltd., which operates as LeHomes Realty Premier, and Pacesetter Marketing Ltd. on Thursday.

LeHomes received the larger of the two penalties. It was ordered to pay $149,886 for six violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its associated regulations.

Pacesetter received a $41,085 fine for its three violations.

Both firms will pay their penalties, rather than appealing, and the cases have been closed, FINTRAC said in its statements announcing the fines.

The six violations LeHomes was found to have committed included “failure to submit a suspicious transaction report where there were reasonable grounds to suspect that transactions were related to a money laundering offence,” a violation FINTRAC described as “very serious.”

The regulator did not specify how many suspicious transactions LeHomes should have flagged, but said its inspectors identified transactions with “numerous money laundering and terrorist financing indicators.”

“The indicators included transactional activity inconsistent with the client’s apparent financial standing, their usual pattern of activities or occupational information, the client did not want to put his or her name on any document that would connect him or her with the property and transactions involving a person who lives in a location of concern,” FINTRAC’s statement reads.

LeHomes’ other five violations, according to FINTRAC, were:

• Failure to ensure that the appointed person was responsible for implementing a compliance program
• Failure to develop and apply sufficient compliance policies and procedures for its regulatory obligations relating to record-keeping, third-party determination, business relationship and ongoing monitoring
• Failure to take into consideration the money laundering or terrorist activity financing risk of its products and delivery channels, its geographic location, and its clients and business relationships
• Failure to fully document and deliver an ongoing training program for its staff
• Failure to keep complete client identification records

The first four on that list were deemed “serious” violations, while the fifth was considered “minor,” FINTRAC said.

Pacesetter’s three violations were all classified as “serious.” FINTRAC described them as follows.

• Failure to develop and apply written compliance policies and procedures that are kept up to date and, in the case of an entity, are approved by a senior officer.
• Failure of a person or entity to assess and document the risks.
• Failure of a person or entity to institute and document the prescribed review.

FINTRAC says its administrative monetary penalties are “meant to encourage change in the non-compliant behaviour of businesses.”

In its 2024-25 fiscal year, the regulator issued 23 notices of violation, more than in any previous year, assessing more than $25 million in penalties.