The Canadian government found almost twice as many cases of suspected terrorist financing in the 12 months that ended in March, with the amount of money involved almost tripling to C$70 million ($58 million). The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, a government agency, said it identified 48 cases in fiscal 2004, up from 25 a year earlier. It refers any suspected terrorism and money-laundering cases to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other enforcement bodies.
Some of the increase may be due to better monitoring. Canada made it mandatory in 2000 for financial institutions to report any suspicious transactions, such as those involving more than C$10,000 in cash, and broadened the law in 2001 to cover terrorism. The agency received 9.5 million reports in fiscal 2004, up from 2.2 million the previous year. ``We received more data and we're getting better at detecting suspicious activity,'' spokesman Peter Lamey said. The agency, known as Fintrac, also identified 112 new cases of money laundering last year, up from 78. |