Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (S.C. 2000, c. 17)

Marginal note:Service of notices

39.22 The service of the President’s notice under section 39.17 or the notice of the Minister’s decision under section 39.18 is sufficient if it is sent by registered mail addressed to the person or entity on which it is to be served at their latest known address.

Third Party Claims

Marginal note:Interest as owner

• 39.23 (1) If goods have been seized as forfeit under this Part, any person or entity, other than the person or entity in whose possession the goods were when seized, that claims in respect of the goods an interest as owner or, in Quebec, a right as owner or trustee may, within 90 days after the seizure, apply by notice in writing to the court for an order under section 39.24.

• Marginal note:Date of hearing

  (2) A judge of the court to which an application is made under this section shall fix a day, not less than 30 days after the date of the filing of the application, for the hearing.

• Marginal note:Notice to President

  (3) The applicant shall serve notice of the application and of the hearing on the President, or an officer delegated by the President for the purpose of this section, not later than 15 days after a day is fixed under subsection (2) for the hearing of the application.

• Marginal note:Service of notice

  (4) The service of a notice under subsection (3) is sufficient if it is sent by registered mail addressed to the President.

• Marginal note:Definition of court

  (5) In this section and sections 39.24 and 39.25, court means

  • (a) in the Province of Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice;

  • (b) in the Province of Quebec, the Superior Court;

  • (c) in the Provinces of Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, in Yukon and in the Northwest Territories, the Supreme Court;

  • (d) in the Provinces of New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the Court of King’s Bench; and

  • (e) in Nunavut, the Nunavut Court of Justice.

Marginal note:Order

39.24 On the hearing of an application made under subsection 39.23(1), the applicant is entitled to an order declaring that their interest or right is not affected by the seizure and declaring the nature and extent of their interest or right at the time of the contravention that resulted in the seizure if the court is satisfied

• (a) that the applicant acquired the interest or right in good faith before the contravention;

• (b) that the applicant is innocent of any complicity in the contravention and of any collusion in relation to it; and

• (c) that the applicant exercised all reasonable care to ensure that any person permitted to obtain possession of the goods seized would declare them in accordance with section 39.02.

Marginal note:Appeal

• 39.25 (1) A person or entity that makes an application under section 39.23 or His Majesty in right of Canada may appeal to the court of appeal from an order made under section 39.24 and the appeal shall be asserted, heard and decided according to the ordinary procedure governing appeals to the court of appeal from orders or judgments of a court.

• Marginal note:Definition of court of appeal

  (2) In this section, court of appeal means, in the province in which an order referred to in subsection (1) is made, the court of appeal for that province as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code.

Marginal note:Delivery after final order

• 39.26 (1) The Minister of Public Works and Government Services shall, after the forfeiture of goods has become final and on being informed by the President that a person or entity has obtained a final order under section 39.24 or 39.25 in respect of the goods, give to the person or entity

  • (a) the goods; or

  • (b) an amount calculated on the basis of the interest of the applicant in the goods at the time of the contravention in respect of which they were seized, as declared in the order.

• Marginal note:Limit on amount paid

  (2) The total amount paid under paragraph (1)(b) shall, if the goods were sold or otherwise disposed of under the Seized Property Management Act, not exceed the proceeds of the sale or disposition, if any, less any costs incurred by His Majesty in right of Canada in respect of the goods.

Disclosure and Use of Information

Marginal note:Prohibition

• 39.27 (1) Subject to this section and subsection 12(1) of the Privacy Act, no official shall disclose the following:

  • (a) information set out in a declaration made under section 39.02, whether or not it is completed;

  • (b) any other information obtained for the purposes of this Part; or

  • (c) information prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).

• Marginal note:Use of information

  (2) An officer may use information referred to in subsection (1) if the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information is relevant to determining whether a person is a person described in sections 34 to 42 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or is relevant to an offence under any of sections 91, 117 to 119, 126 or 127 of that Act.

• Marginal note:Disclosure of relevant information

  (3) If an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that information referred to in subsection (1) would be relevant to investigating or prosecuting a money laundering offence, a terrorist activity financing offence or a sanctions evasion offence, the officer may disclose the information to

  • (a) the appropriate police force;

  • (b) the Canada Revenue Agency, if the officer also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information would be relevant to investigating or prosecuting an offence of obtaining or attempting to obtain a rebate, refund or credit to which a person or entity is not entitled, or of evading or attempting to evade paying taxes or duties imposed under an Act of Parliament administered by the Minister of National Revenue;

  • (c) the Agence du revenu du Québec, if the officer also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information would be relevant to investigating or prosecuting an offence of obtaining or attempting to obtain a rebate, refund or credit to which a person or entity is not entitled, or of evading or attempting to evade paying taxes imposed under an Act of Parliament or of the legislature of Quebec administered by the Minister of Revenue of Quebec;

  • (d) the Canada Revenue Agency, if the officer also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information is relevant to determining

    • (i) whether a registered charity, as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act, has ceased to comply with the requirements of that Act for its registration as such,

    • (ii) whether a person or entity that the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect has applied to be a registered charity, as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act, is eligible to be registered as such, or

    • (iii) whether a person or entity that the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect may apply to be a registered charity, as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act,

      • (A) has made or will make available any resources, directly or indirectly, to a listed entity as defined in subsection 83.01(1) of the Criminal Code,

      • (B) has made available any resources, directly or indirectly, to an entity as defined in subsection 83.01(1) of the Criminal Code that was at that time, and continues to be, engaged in terrorist activities as defined in that subsection or activities in support of them, or

      • (C) has made or will make available any resources, directly or indirectly, to an entity as defined in subsection 83.01(1) of the Criminal Code that engages or will engage in terrorist activities as defined in that subsection or activities in support of them;

  • (e) the Communications Security Establishment, if the officer also determines that the information is relevant to the foreign intelligence aspect of the Communications Security Establishment’s mandate, referred to in section 16 of the Communications Security Establishment Act;

  • (f) the Competition Bureau, if the officer also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information would be relevant to investigating or prosecuting an offence under the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Precious Metals Marking Act or the Textile Labelling Act or an attempt to commit such an offence;

  • (g) an agency or body that administers the securities legislation of a province, if the officer also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information would be relevant to investigating or prosecuting an offence under that legislation;

  • (h) the Minister of Foreign Affairs or a Minister designated under subsection 6(2) of the Special Economic Measures Act, if the officer also determines that the information is relevant to the making, administration or enforcement of an order or regulation referred to in subsection 4(1) of that Act;

  • (i) the Minister of Foreign Affairs or a Minister designated under subsection 2.1(2) of the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law), if the officer also determines that the information is relevant to the making, administration or enforcement of an order or regulation referred to in subsection 4(1) of that Act;

  • (j) the Department of the Environment, if the officer also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information would be relevant to investigating or prosecuting an offence under an Act administered by the Minister of the Environment or an attempt to commit such an offence; and

  • (k) the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, if the officer also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information would be relevant to investigating or prosecuting an offence under an Act administered by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans or an attempt to commit such an offence.

• Marginal note:Disclosure — threats to security of Canada

  (4) If an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that information referred to in subsection (1) would be relevant to threats to the security of Canada, the officer may disclose the information to

  • (a) the Canadian Security Intelligence Service;

  • (b) the appropriate police force, if the officer also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information is relevant to investigating or prosecuting an offence under Canadian law that the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect arises out of conduct constituting such a threat;

  • (c) the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces, if the officer also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information is relevant to the conduct of the Department’s or the Canadian Forces’ investigative activities related to such a threat; and

  • (d) the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, if the officer also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information is relevant to the exercise of the powers or the performance of the duties and functions of the Superintendent under the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act.

• Marginal note:Disclosure of information to Centre

  (5) An officer may disclose to the Centre information referred to in subsection (1) if the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that it would be of assistance to the Centre in the detection, prevention or deterrence of money laundering, of the financing of terrorist activities or of sanctions evasion.

• Marginal note:Recording of reasons for decision

  (6) If an officer decides to disclose information under subsection (3), (4) or (5), the officer shall record in writing the reasons for the decision.

• Marginal note:Powers, duties and functions

  (7) An official may disclose information referred to in subsection (1) for the purpose of exercising powers or performing duties and functions under this Part.

• Marginal note:Immunity from compulsory processes

  (8) Subject to section 36 of the Access to Information Act and sections 34 and 37 of the Privacy Act, an official is required to comply with a subpoena, an order for production of documents, a summons or any other compulsory process only if it is issued in the course of

  • (a) criminal proceedings under an Act of Parliament that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment; or

  • (b) any legal proceedings that relate to the administration or enforcement of this Part.

• Marginal note:Definition of official

  (9) In this section and section 39.28, official means a person who obtained or who has or had access to information referred to in subsection (1) in the course of exercising powers or performing duties and functions under this Part.

Marginal note:Use of information

39.28 No official shall use information referred to in subsection 39.27(1) for any purpose other than exercising powers or performing duties and functions under this Part or for the purposes of the Special Economic Measures Act, the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law), the Customs Act or any other law relating to customs.

Marginal note:Feedback, research and public education

• 39.29 (1) The Canada Border Services Agency may

  • (a) inform persons and entities that have provided a declaration under section 39.02 about measures that have been taken with respect to those declarations;

  • (b) conduct research into trends and developments in the area of money laundering, the financing of terrorist activities, sanctions evasion and the financing of threats to the security of Canada relating to the importation and exportation of goods and into improved ways of detecting, preventing and deterring money laundering, the financing of terrorist activities, sanctions evasion and the financing of threats to the security of Canada; and

  • (c) undertake measures to inform the public, any persons and entities referred to in section 39.02, any authorities engaged in the investigation and prosecution of money laundering offences, terrorist activity financing offences and sanctions evasion offences and any others with respect to

    • (i) their obligations under this Part,

    • (ii) the nature and extent of money laundering inside and outside Canada relating to the importation and exportation of goods,

    • (iii) the nature and extent of the financing of terrorist activities inside and outside Canada relating to the importation and exportation of goods,

    • (iv) the nature and extent of the financing, inside and outside Canada, of threats to the security of Canada relating to the importation and exportation of goods,

    • (v) the nature and extent of sanctions evasion inside and outside Canada relating to the importation and exportation of goods, and

    • (vi) measures that have been or might be taken to detect, prevent and deter money laundering — as well as the financing of terrorist activities, sanctions evasion and the financing of threats to the security of Canada — inside or outside Canada, and the effectiveness of those measures.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) The Canada Border Services Agency shall not disclose under subsection (1) any information that would directly or indirectly identify any of the following persons or entities:

  • (a) a person who provided a report or information to the Canada Border Services Agency;

  • (b) a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act about whom a report or information was provided;

  • (c) a person in Canada or an entity that has a place of business in Canada about whom a report or information was provided.