Canadian Government Implements ‘Follow The Money’ Strategy Against Extortion.

Montreal; March 2026: On March 30th, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue, accompanied by Ian Lafrenière, Minister of Public Security of Québec, and Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Mayor of Montréal, highlighted Canada’s new “follow-the-money” strategy to strengthen the country’s ability to detect, disrupt, and prevent extortion across Canada. These efforts are particularly important in Québec, where the livelihoods of small business owners, of bars and restaurants in particular, are affected. By improving how financial intelligence is collected and shared, law enforcement will be better equipped to trace criminal networks, support investigations, and hold perpetrators accountable.

Too many Canadians are victims of extortion. Every day, people and businesses fall prey to organised criminal networks that often operate across borders. The fear and intimidation associated with these crimes are real. Simply put, extortion undermines Canadians’ sense of safety, and this requires a coordinated response between governments, law enforcement, and financial institutions.

Earlier on 19th February, the government had announced its prioritising efforts and mobilising the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) to help to combat extortion and support law enforcement investigations. These measures include assigning dedicated financial intelligence liaison officers to work with local police; prioritising financial intelligence resources to tackle extortion; launching a Countering Extortion Partnership with financial institutions, government, and law enforcement; providing clear guidance on identifying extortion transactions; and publishing strategic intelligence on how criminals move and hide extortion money.

Since the launch of the national campaign to combat extortion, FINTRAC has engaged with 28 different law enforcement and intelligence units on the ground and nearly 200 police investigators across 04 provinces, including Québec. This engagement has led to 37 financial intelligence disclosures, more than three times the number generated over the past two years related to extortion.

Together, these measures strengthen ongoing efforts by federal, provincial, and municipal governments and law enforcement to combat criminal extortion. In Montréal, this includes enhanced collaboration between FINTRAC, Canadian banks, credit unions, and financial service providers of virtual assets, alongside key partners such as the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Sûreté du Québec, and the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal. It also involves deploying intelligence experts on the ground to support local law enforcement in detecting, disrupting, and preventing extortion.

These actions build on broader federal measures to combat organised crime and protect Canadians, including the creation of the new Canada Financial Crimes Agency, significant investments to strengthen RCMP investigative capacity, and enhanced coordination with law enforcement and intelligence partners.

Since 2019, the government has invested close to $379 million in combatting financial crimes. These investments have strengthened supervision and financial intelligence functions at FINTRAC, increased resources and tools to support financial crime investigations, and enhanced Canada’s ability to combat trade-based financial crime.

Furthermore, vide Budget 2025 – Canadian Government has announced $1.7 billion in funding to strengthen the RCMP’s response to a wide range of threats related to transnational organised crime, financial crimes, and money laundering, while enhancing its intelligence and national security capacity, fulfilling the government’s commitment to hire 1,000 RCMP personnel. Prime Minister Carney has indicated that 150 of these new personnel will be dedicated to tackle financial crimes encompassing targeting money laundering networks, organised crime, online fraud, and the recovery of illicit assets.

Leveraging these investments in federal law enforcement capacity, Budget 2025 proposed to establish a new Financial Crimes Agency to be Canada’s lead enforcement agency against financial crimes. This agency will be a best-in-class model that aims to unite the police and civilian expertise needed to investigate complex cases of money laundering, organised criminal activity, and online financial scams, and to recover illicit proceeds. The Minister of Finance and National Revenue is working with the Ministers of Justice and Public Safety to introduce legislation to stand up the new Financial Crimes Agency by spring of 2026.

Businesses with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing (AML/ATF) obligations are on the front lines of the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion. Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, proposes comprehensive reforms to strengthen AML/ATF supervision, compliance, and enforcement, including by increasing AML/ATF civil penalties by forty times, and criminal fines by ten times, their current amount.

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue has asserted, “Extortion has no place in our communities, from the streets of Montréal to every corner of Québec. Our government is strengthening financial intelligence and working closely with law enforcement and financial institutions to eliminate the activities of criminal networks. With these new measures, we’re taking steps to better detect and disrupt extortion, support investigations, and help protect Canadians and businesses”.

The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety has said, “Communities across Canada are feeling the impact of extortion. Our government is taking action by investing in prevention, strengthening enforcement, improving intelligence sharing, deepening collaboration at home and abroad, and bringing in tougher laws for extortion related offences. Working with provincial, territorial, and municipal partners, and law enforcement agencies across the country, we are taking a coordinated approach to combat this threat. The new measures we have announced give police even more tools to target extortion and cut off the illicit money that fuels it”.

Team Maverick.