Canada to Create Financial Crimes Agency Before Budget

Canada will unveil its first national anti‑fraud strategy and create a new financial crimes agency as pre‑budget measures ahead of the Nov. 4 federal budget. The agency is intended to be the lead enforcement body to tackle online fraud, money laundering and recover criminal proceeds, modeled on specialized units abroad and tasked with investigating sophisticated, often organized‑crime‑linked schemes. The government will amend the Bank Act to require banks to have policies and procedures to detect and prevent consumer‑targeted fraud, obtain express consent before enabling services like e‑transfers, collect and report fraud data to regulators, and consult on a voluntary Economic Abuse Code of Conduct. Reported losses to fraud in 2024 are now estimated at roughly $544 million to $643 million, with seniors disproportionately affected and many scams believed to go unreported. Ottawa said the measures are “unprecedented” and based on consultations with G7 counterparts, law enforcement and banks, while leaving open how the new agency will coordinate with existing bodies such as the Canadian Anti‑Fraud Centre and FINTRAC.