CIBC fined $1.3M for failing to comply with money laundering and terrorist financing rules

Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $1.3-million penalty against CIBC for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures.

The penalty is the second the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada has announced this week after RBC's $7.4-million fine was publicized on Tuesday.

The agency, known as Fintrac, says it imposed the penalty over CIBC's failure to submit a suspicious transaction report when there were grounds to suspect it was related to money laundering or terrorist activity, and failures to report information related to large money transfers from outside Canada.

Fintrac tries to pinpoint money linked to illicit activities by electronically sifting through millions of pieces of information each year from banks, insurance companies, money services businesses and others.

It says it found an instance where CIBC didn't file a suspicious transaction report even as it knew the client had been arrested and charged with criminal offences, while the agency's review also found over a thousand instances, out of a sample of 20,000, where information related to money transfers was incomplete.

CIBC spokesman Tom Wallis says the administrative matters are related to a relatively small number of transactions and that the bank will continue to identify, investigate and do its part to deter and detect financial crimes.