Criminals will, from time to time, purchase businesses that generate gross receipts from cash sales such as restaurants, bars, night clubs, hotels, currency exchange shops, vending machine companies, car washes and other retail sales for this purpose. A criminal provides an associate with a specific amount of illegitimate money. This creates an illusion that the trafficker's funds are legitimate. Wilful blindness arises when people, aware that a situation should be investigated, do not follow through because they do not want to face reality. The Proceeds of Crime that creep into the Canadian financial system are staggering and affect all levels of society.
Drug trafficking alone generates billions of illegal dollars for criminal organizations every year.
Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact amount, it is clear that the problem is vast. Organized money laundering has devastating social consequences. Laundered funds provide financial support for drug dealers, terrorism, arms' dealers and other criminals to operate and expand their criminal empires. Investigations reveal that criminals manipulate financial systems in Canada and abroad to foster a wide range of illicit activities. This act ensures that you will be protected from any civil prosecution under the Criminal Code of Canada even if your suspicions prove wrong.