OTTAWA — Traffickers are exploiting Canadian money service businesses to buy deadly fentanyl from overseas and then launder the proceeds through banks and credit unions, warns the national financial intelligence agency. The alert, which lists specific signs of fentanyl-related activity, was developed through Fintrac’s analysis of intelligence in consultation with Canadian financial institutions and the RCMP. Financial intelligence suggests that traffickers procure fentanyl, as well as its derivatives and chemical components, from foreign sources, mainly in China, the Fintrac alert says. Traffickers most often pay for these materials with wire transfers and money orders processed by money service businesses, but sometimes use virtual currency such as Bitcoin. Another indicator could be significantly more email money transfers — generally for small amounts — than normal for a customer with his or her profile.

Source: National Post January 31, 2018 09:22 UTC