Canada's Criminal Bank

 

The Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. Every week, we’re going to deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works, and we’re going to do it in a way that no one else can.

This episode:

TD Bank has over a hundred thousand employees, almost two trillion dollars in assets and it’s a foundational part of the Canadian economy.

It’s also a criminal enterprise.

TD Bank has now admitted that for years, they helped launder hundreds of millions of dollars in drug money in the United States. But TD’s bad behaviour goes much further back. And leads us a lot closer to home.

Featured in this episode: Michael Sallah (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Robert Cribb (Toronto Star)

To learn more

“TD Bank’s dirty laundry: Inside the cultural shift that seeded a money laundering crisis, succession woes and a leadership exodus” by Tim Kiladze, Rita Trichur James Bradshaw and Stefanie Marotta in The Globe and Mail

“Pirate of the Caribbean” by Bryan Burrough in Vanity Fair

“How Italy’s ’Ndrangheta mafia allegedly infiltrated Canadian banks” by Brian Fitzpatrick, Robert Cribb, Jared Ferrie, Alessia Candito, & Alessia Cerantola in The Toronto Star, OCCRP & La Repubblica

Coalition calls to end snow-washing and urges feds for improved transparency in wake of FinCEN Files

 

OTTAWA – A coalition of organizations is urging the federal government to crack down on financial crime after Canadian banks, shell companies, and individuals were identified in a global investigation into suspicious financial activity.

The FinCEN Files investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and BuzzFeed News found Western banks helped trillions in dirty or suspicious money flow across borders. Between 2000-2017, suspicious activity reports referenced individuals from more than 170 jurisdictions. Canada ranked 7th among countries where individuals were flagged for suspicious financial activity.

“Canada has a reputation as a safe country with a robust economy, but our weak transparency laws have made us a haven for bad actors and complicit in all sorts of illicit global activity from drug trafficking to terrorist financing,” said Sasha Caldera, beneficial ownership transparency campaign manager with Publish What You Pay Canada, one of the coalition members.

Radio-Canada’s Enquête investigated Canadian shell corporations flagged in the FinCEN files for receiving millions in suspicious transactions. Journalists traced front companies incorporated in New Brunswick and Alberta, with no legitimate business activity or beneficial owner in Canada, to Russia and alleged illicit activities ranging from insurance fraud to illegal fishing.  (more...)

Coalition calls to end snow-washing and urges feds for improved transparency in wake of FinCEN Files

Related:

End Snow-Washing