Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime

FINTRAC’s AMP list now includes multiple penalties above $500k and several in the millions, across banks, securities dealers, gaming, and crypto.  This panel translates those enforcement outcomes into practical decisions on governance, controls, documentation, and remediation, so teams reduce exam risk and avoid becoming the next public notice in the headlines. Topics will include:

• Distilling what recent AMP decisions signal about priorities and where programs are failing most often 
• Pressure-testing your compliance program evidence trail so risk assessments, controls, and decisions are defensible 
• Quantifying penalty exposure and remediation risk now, including what changes if proposed “Strong Borders Act” reforms materially raise the stakes
• Mapping a practical response plan for findings by prioritizing fixes, documenting remediation, and communicating to senior leadership and the board
• Deciding when to remediate quietly v. challenge findings, and what a credible appeal posture looks like in practice

Sanctions lists are growing, trade routes are shifting, and TBML is getting harder to spot, especially in high-risk commodities and complex supply chains.  This session focuses on what compliance teams can actually control in 2026, including the practical reporting and program impacts of Canada’s evolving sanctions framework and proposed SEMA changes.  Topics will include:

• Mapping the newest TMBL typologies in hiding pricing, invoicing, transshipment, and commodity flows 
• Pressure-testing sanctions programs against real evasion tactics using third-country intermediaries, layered ownership, and trade documentation manipulation 
• Translating Budget 2025’s proposed SEMA direction into - what we may have to build now 
• Scenario-planning how tariff uncertainty and trade policy shifts can create new laundering and sanctions-evasion pathways  
• Connecting cross-border illicit finance to Canada-relevant threats including drugs, weapons, and trafficking 

AI is moving from innovation to supervision, and FINTRAC has explicitly said it is using automation, data analytics, AI and machine learning to strengthen detection, so institutions need governance and proof, not just tools.  Topics will include:

• Balancing AI operationalization with privacy, data protection, and defensible use data 
• Clarifying how FINTRAC is using analytics and AI and what that signals for reporting entity expectations  
• Designing explainable and auditable models that stand up to exam scrutiny 
• Building model governance that proves effectiveness, including validation, change control, and audit trails 
• Automating transaction monitoring and sanctions screening while controlling false positives and “automation bias” 
• Improving STR quality by using AI to detect patterns, triage alerts, and strengthen narratives without over-reporting 
• Deciding build v. buy with realistic resourcing, vendor oversight, and third-party accountability  
• Measuring success with outcomes that matter, including detection lift, alert reduction, and review time saved 
 

Canada is moving toward consumer-driven banking and real-time, data-rich payments, which will shrink the window to detect and stop fraud and laundering, while increasing pressure on consent, identity, and monitoring controls.  Topics will include:

• Reducing risk from screen-scraping by shifting to safer data-sharing models and standards
• Hardening KYC and identity verification against synthetic identity and account takeover in an instant-payments world 
• Designing real-time controls that can intervene fast enough when payments are irrevocable and fraud moves in seconds
• Building privacy-respecting data access and consent practices that still support AML monitoring and investigations
• Leveraging richer payments data to improve detection 

Bill C-2 (Strong Borders Act), and Bill C-12 (Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act) are both framed as tools to disrupt organized crime and money laundering while preserving Charter rights and privacy.  This session translates those policy directions into practical workflows for financial institutions and their partners.  Topics will include:

• Explaining how Bill C-2 is designed to strengthen AML information sharing and support partnerships
• Clarifying what proposed cash restrictions and third-party deposit limitations could mean for front-line controls and escalation
• Eliminating anonymous or fictitious names on accounts by tightening onboarding, documentation, and exception handling 
• Building lawful public-private and private-private sharing practices that improve detection while minimizing privacy risk
• Implementing governance for information sharing by defining purpose, retention, safeguards, and oversight  
• Balancing “sharing more” with Charter and privacy expectations by documenting necessity, proportionality, and internal decisioning

Your role in financial crime prevention is not passive; it is a frontline defense against high-risk criminal behavior. The future of AML depends on your team’s ability to move from reactive, obligation-based controls to a proactive, intelligence-led approach. This session challenges the “check-the-compliance-box” mentality and explores how investigative methods used to dismantle global criminal networks can be applied to modern financial crime compliance.

In this session, Ray Donovan, CEO of Stack21 Solutions and former Chief of Operations of the DEA, and Stuart Jones, Jr., CEO of Sigma360 and former U.S. Treasury and National Counterterrorism Center official, will:

• Reveal emerging typologies observed across global financial institutions, and the structural changes to consider for AML technology and investigative workflows
• Expose how illicit financiers exploit digital currency, AI, fragmented data, and third-party channels to gain advantage over financial institutions
• Explore why AML responsibilities have expanded from regulatory requirements to a broader national security priority
• Discuss how to strengthen AML programs against third-party rails, opaque networks, and external vulnerabilities that introduce risk into financial institutions