OTTAWA -- Canada's anti-money laundering centre uncovered $35 million in suspected terrorist financing in the first nine months of the fiscal year, outstripping the tally for the entire previous year. The amount reflects the total detected by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre from April through December 2003, forming the basis of 29 case files passed to police or intelligence officials for further investigation.

The figures obtained by The Canadian Press are the latest indication that dangerous organizations continue to try to use Canada's financial institutions as conduits for bankrolling terrorist acts.
Fintrac, as the federal centre is known, identified 25 cases of suspected terrorist financing involving $22 million in all of fiscal 2002-03.

[. . . .] Fintrac collects and analyzes a steady stream of reports from banks, trust companies, insurance firms, accountants, casinos, lawyers and money service businesses as part of Canada's efforts to crack down on criminal efforts to hide dirty cash.

[. . . .] In June 2002, the Ottawa-based Fintrac's role was expanded to include detection of funds that might be used to finance bombings, assassinations and other acts of politically motivated violence.

[. . . .] Should Fintrac have reasonable grounds to suspect financial transactions are linked to terrorism, the agency discloses the case information to the RCMP and, if there is a threat to national security, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.