The Federation of Law Societies of Canada is pleased to announce the launch of its online learning program, “Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the Canadian Legal Profession”.
Developed as part of the long-standing commitment of the Federation and its members, Canada’s legal regulators, to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the program is designed to enhance the ability of legal professionals to understand and respond appropriately to money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
“The Federation and the law societies take seriously their responsibility to address money laundering and terrorist financing risks faced by legal professions and have demonstrated their commitment in this area by developing and implementing robust anti-money laundering regulation,” said Federation President Jill Perry.
“Providing comprehensive educational materials for legal professionals is another key element of our anti-money laundering work. This online program is an important addition to the resources available to legal professionals.”
The program consists of five interactive modules. Together, the modules provide an overview of the problem of money laundering and terrorist financing, the risks that may be faced by legal professionals, key due diligence obligations under law society anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules and regulations, proper use of trust accounts, and restrictions on cash transactions.
This educational program is part of a suite of initiatives undertaken by the Federation over the past 20 years to address the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing that can arise in the practice of law. These initiatives include the development of model rules limiting the ability of legal professionals to accept cash, imposing extensive client identification and verification obligations, and limiting the use of professional trust accounts; providing guidance to law societies on the enforcement of those rules; providing guidance and educational materials to the profession; and engaging with the Department of Finance to ensure that Canada’s anti-money laundering regime is strong.
The program is available on the Federation’s public website.
The Federation is the national association of the 14 regulators of the legal profession in Canada. Our member law societies are mandated by legislation in each province and territory with the responsibility for regulating more than 141,000 lawyers, 3,850 notaries in Quebec, and Ontario’s 10,600 licensed paralegals in the public interest. An important role of the Federation is to express the views of the law societies on national and international issues relating to the administration of justice and the rule of law.