FINTRAC sanctions Alberta casino over compliance

A casino operator in Alberta is being sanctioned by federal anti-money laundering (AML) authorities for a series of alleged violations of the AML rules.

On Thursday, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) announced that it imposed a $91,162.50 penalty on Northern Isga Foundation for alleged breaches that were uncovered in a compliance review. The non-profit charitable organization runs the Eagle River Casino and Travel Plaza in Glenevis, Alta., for the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation Chief and Council.

According to a notice outlining the enforcement action, a compliance exam uncovered four violations that FINTRAC classified as “serious” — including alleged weaknesses in the non-profit’s compliance policies and procedures, risk assessment failings and deficiencies in its AML training and internal compliance review programs.  

Specifically, the notice said the organization’s policies were missing certain provisions — including requirements for verifying the identity of patrons making large transactions in virtual currency, its approach to ongoing monitoring, policies for documenting beneficial ownership, along with certain reporting and record-keeping requirements.

FINTRAC also alleged that it failed to include factors such as “geography” among its considerations when assessing money laundering risk. 

“Additionally, Northern Isga Foundation failed to document any additional controls, mitigation strategies, and enhanced or special measures for any identified high-risk patrons and business relationships,” the notice said.

The agency further alleged that the organization failed to develop an ongoing compliance training program and wasn’t able to document that it had undertaken the required review of its compliance program to test for effectiveness.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.