Raj Grewal questioned federal agencies about their ability to investigate money laundering

Liberal MP Raj Grewal publicly questioned RCMP and other law enforcement officials about how they were investigating money laundering early in the day. the year, while RCMP officers were investigating his multi – million dollar gambling activities and seeking to determine the origin of the crime. funds, records and sources say.

Grewal announced his retirement last week in the House of Commons, citing unspecified personal and medical problems. The next day, the Prime Minister's office announced the departure of Mr. Grewal to solve a gambling problem and considerable personal debts. On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Grewal was still an official MP and the exact date of his resignation was unknown.

Until September 19, Mr. Grewal was a member of the House of Commons Finance Committee, which reviewed Canada's anti-money laundering regime this year. The transcripts of the committee hearings show that he was particularly interested in the testimony of members of law enforcement agencies, such as the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency or the Canada Border Services Center. Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis of Canada (FINTRAC), which collects financial data. transactions of more than $ 10,000 in financial institutions and casinos.

Mr. Grewal's questions aroused the interest of RCMP members as FINTRAC had already alerted the police at the time of Mr. Grewal's gambling activities, sources said. The RCMP is still investigating Mr. Grewal, the sources said, to whom the Globe and Mail has granted anonymity to discuss confidential information that they are not allowed to disclose. The sources have direct knowledge of the investigation.

According to sources, Mr. Grewal has spent millions of dollars in total over the past three years, including the Casino du Lac-Leamy, on the other side of the Ottawa River, from Parliament Hill. One source stated that the investigation was triggered by the casino's disclosure of expenditures to FINTRAC, which required the casinos to report transactions of more than $ 10,000 a day, before reporting them to the casino. RCMP.

The sources stated that the key question for investigators at this stage is the origin of the funds and that Mr. Grewal met all his reporting requirements to the Canada Revenue Agency and the House of Commons. municipalities.

Mr. Grewal has not responded in recent days to messages left over the phone, email or via social media.

The transcripts show that during the first half of the year, Mr. Grewal regularly participated in the Finance Committee's review of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. He also participated in the initial discussions on the committee's draft report, which was released in November after being appointed to fill a vacant position on the health committee.

At the money laundering hearings, Mr. Grewal was not present or did not ask questions to industry badociations or outside experts. However, Mr. Grewal was interested in the ability of federal agencies to investigate and prosecute money-laundering activities, asking how many convictions had been issued in a given year. RCMP Assistant Commissioner Joanne Crampton said there was no exact figure, but added that 53 investigations were ongoing at the time.

On a number of occasions, Mr. Grewal wondered whether the $ 10,000 limit was still appropriate or whether it should be adjusted for inflation, as well as what would trigger an investigation into a person who exceeded the limit and if people know if they are under investigation.

"How much money does FINTRAC have to spend after every small transaction of $ 10,000? If I launder money, I will not make millions of transactions to attract attention. I'm doing it with the $ 10,000 limit, $ 15,000, "Grewal said on February 8.

On June 20, he asked Annette Ryan of the Department of Finance Canada: "In the event that a financial institution provides what it considers to be a suspicious transaction to FINTRAC, FINTRAC would launch an investigation, but could the account holder never know that this was happening?

Ms. Ryan responded that FINTRAC allowed police forces to decide what to do with information received from the agency.

On February 26, Mr. Grewal interviewed representatives of the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), including information received from FINTRAC.

"How is FINTRAC collecting data? Is it easily accessible when they submit data to you? Can you cut it as you wish, or are there any gaps that we could improve on FINTRAC's side? He asked.

On May 24, he questioned FINTRAC officials about their ability to decide which transactions – out of the $ 19 million badyzed each year – deserve special attention.

"Can FINTRAC do its job? Asked he. You see electronic funds transfers. It is $ 10,000 or more sent by wire transfer in or out of this country. What happens if it is a cash transaction or a certified check that is withdrawn? Is it exactly the same? If I buy a car and take a certified check from my bank account, is this check also sent to FINTRAC? "

Barry MacKillop, Assistant Director of Operations at FINTRAC, responded that FINTRAC had made more than 2,000 communications to different police departments last year, based on its badysis of all transactions.

"Are we reviewing each electronic transfer of funds into FINTRAC? No, he said. The problem is that we will not know right away if this transaction has been worthwhile to develop real information. We use this as part of the intelligence picture that we have prepared for law enforcement or national security. "