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

Marginal note:Criteria for penalty

73.11 Except if a penalty is fixed under paragraph 73.1(1)(c), the amount of a penalty shall, in each case, be determined taking into account

• (a) the fact that penalties have as their purpose to encourage compliance with this Act rather than to punish;

• (b) the harm done by the violation;

• (c) the ability of the person or entity to pay the amount; and

• (d) any other criteria that may be prescribed by regulation.

Marginal note:Information respecting ability to pay

• 73.111 (1) Subject to subsection (2), if the Centre requests information from the person or entity to enable the Centre to take into account paragraph 73.11(c), the person or entity may, in any representations made under subsection 73.15(2) with respect to that paragraph, rely only on information that the person or entity provided to the Centre before the deadline indicated by the Centre.

• Marginal note:New information

  (2) In the representations, the person or entity may rely on new information with respect to paragraph 73.11(c) only if

  • (a) that information is with respect to facts that arose after the deadline;

  • (b) that information was not reasonably available before the deadline; or

  • (c) the person or entity could not reasonably have been expected in the circumstances to have provided that information before the deadline.

Marginal note:Violation or offence

73.12 If an act or omission may be proceeded with as a violation or as an offence, proceeding with it in one manner precludes proceeding with it in the other.

Marginal note:Prescribed violations

73.13 Every contravention that is designated under paragraph 73.1(1)(a) constitutes a prescribed violation and the person or entity that commits the prescribed violation is liable to a penalty determined in accordance with sections 73.1 and 73.11.

Notices of Violation

Marginal note:Notice of violation

73.131 If the Centre believes on reasonable grounds that a person or entity has committed a prescribed violation or a compliance order violation, the Centre may issue and cause to be served on the person or entity a notice of violation.

Marginal note:Contents of notice

• 73.14 (1) When the Centre issues a notice of violation, the notice shall name the person or entity believed to have committed a violation, identify the violation and set out

  • (a) the penalty that the Centre proposes to impose;

  • (b) the right of the person or entity, within 30 days after the day on which the notice is served or within any longer period that the Centre specifies, to pay the penalty or to make representations to the Director with respect to the violation and the proposed penalty, and the manner for doing so; and

  • (c) the fact that, if the person or entity does not pay the penalty or make representations in accordance with the notice, the person or entity will be deemed to have committed the violation and the Centre will impose the penalty in respect of it.

• Marginal note:Administrative corrections

  (2) If a notice of violation contains any error or omission, the Centre may serve a corrected notice of violation on the person or entity at any time during the period referred to in paragraph (1)(b).

Marginal note:Payment of penalty

• 73.15 (1) If the person or entity pays the penalty proposed in the notice of violation, the person or entity is deemed to have committed the violation and proceedings in respect of it are ended.

• Marginal note:Representations to Director

  (2) If the person or entity makes representations in accordance with the notice, the Director shall decide, on a balance of probabilities, whether the person or entity committed the violation and, if so, may, subject to any regulations made under paragraph 73.1(1)(c), impose the penalty proposed, a lesser penalty or no penalty.

• Marginal note:Failure to pay or make representations

  (3) A person or entity that neither pays the penalty nor makes representations in accordance with the notice is deemed to have committed the violation and the Centre shall impose the penalty proposed in the notice.

• Marginal note:Notice of decision and right of appeal

  (4) The Director shall cause notice of any decision made under subsection (2) or the penalty imposed under subsection (3) to be issued and served on the person or entity together with, in the case of a decision made under subsection (2) in respect of a serious violation, a very serious violation or a compliance order violation, notice of the right of appeal under subsection 73.21(1).

Compliance Agreements, Compliance Orders and Compliance Order Violations

Marginal note:Compliance agreement

• 73.16 (1) If a person or entity has committed a prescribed violation, then as soon as feasible after proceedings with respect to that prescribed violation are ended, the Centre shall require the person or entity to enter into a compliance agreement with the Centre.

• Marginal note:Mandatory content

  (2) The compliance agreement shall identify the prescribed violation and the provision to which it relates and, in addition to any other terms to which the parties may agree, shall include the following terms:

  • (a) the measures that are to be taken by the person or entity to comply with the provision; and

  • (b) the deadline for complying with the agreement.

• Marginal note:Extension of deadline

  (3) The Centre may amend the agreement by extending the deadline referred to in paragraph (2)(b) by a maximum period of one year if it is satisfied that the person or entity is making substantial progress in meeting the terms of the agreement, such that an extension would encourage compliance with this Act.

• Marginal note:Refusal to enter into agreement

  (4) Unless the person or entity enters into a compliance agreement within six months after the Centre requires it, or within any other longer period that the Centre allows, the person or entity is deemed to have refused to enter into a compliance agreement.

Marginal note:Compliance order

• 73.17 (1) If a person or entity refuses to enter into a compliance agreement or fails to comply with such an agreement before the deadline referred to in paragraph 73.16(2)(b), the Director of the Centre shall, as soon as feasible after the refusal or the deadline, as the case may be, make a compliance order and cause it to be served on the person or entity.

• Marginal note:Mandatory content

  (2) The compliance order shall identify the name of the person or entity that committed the prescribed violation and the provision to which the violation relates, specify that the person or entity refused to enter into a compliance agreement or that they failed to comply with one, as the case may be, and include the following terms:

  • (a) a requirement that the person or entity comply with the provision;

  • (b) a requirement that the person or entity make public the measures taken or to be taken by the person or entity to comply with the provision; and

  • (c) the deadline for complying with the order.

• Marginal note:Reasons

  (3) The Director may include in the order the reasons for making it, including the relevant facts, analysis and considerations that formed part of the decision.

• Marginal note:Publication of compliance order

  (4) As soon as feasible after making the compliance order, the Director shall make it public.

• Marginal note:Extension of deadline for compliance

  (5) The Director may amend the order by extending the deadline referred to in paragraph (2)(c) by a maximum period of one year if the Director is satisfied that the person or entity is making substantial progress in meeting the terms of the order, such that an extension would encourage compliance with this Act.

Marginal note:Compliance order violation

• 73.18 (1) The contravention of a compliance order made under section 73.17 is a compliance order violation and the person or entity that commits the compliance order violation is liable to a penalty determined in accordance with subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Penalty

  (2) The amount of a penalty for a compliance order violation shall, in each case, be determined in accordance with section 73.11 and shall not exceed

  • (a) in the case of a person, the greater of $5,000,000 and 3% of the person’s gross global income in the year before the one in which the penalty is imposed; and

  • (b) in the case of an entity, the greater of $30,000,000 and 3% of the entity’s gross global revenue in its financial year before the one in which the penalty is imposed.

• Marginal note:Gross global revenue — affiliated entities

  (3) If an entity is part of a group of entities that are affiliated, within the meaning of subsection 9.8(2), then, for the purpose of determining the maximum penalty applicable to the entity under paragraph (2)(b), the entity’s gross global revenue is deemed to be the gross global revenue of the group for the financial year before the one in which the penalty is imposed.

73.19 [Repealed, 2026, c. 4, s. 100]

73.2 [Repealed, 2026, c. 4, s. 100]

Appeal to Federal Court

Marginal note:Right of appeal

• 73.21 (1) A person or entity on which a notice of a decision made under subsection 73.15(2) is served, in respect of a serious violation, a very serious violation or a compliance order violation, may, within 30 days after the day on which the notice is served, or within any longer period that the Court allows, appeal the decision to the Federal Court.

• Marginal note:Appeal — no notice of decision

  (2) If the Director does not cause notice of a decision to be issued and served under subsection 73.15(4) within 90 days after the completion of representations made under subsection 73.15(2), the person or entity that made the representations may appeal the penalty proposed in the notice of violation to the Federal Court, within 30 days after the day on which the 90-day period expires.

• (3) [Repealed, 2026, c. 4, s. 101]

• Marginal note:Precautions against disclosure

  (4) In an appeal, the Court shall take every reasonable precaution, including, when appropriate, conducting hearings in private, to avoid the disclosure by the Court or any person or entity of information referred to in subsection 55(1).

• Marginal note:Exception

  (4.1) Subsection (4) does not apply to the following information:

  • (a) the name of the person or entity that was served with the notice of violation;

  • (b) the nature of the violation; and

  • (c) the amount of the penalty imposed.

• Marginal note:Powers of Court

  (5) On an appeal, the Court may confirm, set aside or, subject to any regulations made under paragraph 73.1(1)(c), vary the decision of the Director.

Publication

Marginal note:Publication

• 73.22 (1) In the following cases, the Centre shall make public, as soon as feasible, the nature of the violation, the name of the person or entity and the amount of the applicable penalty:

  • (a) a person or entity is deemed to have committed a violation under subsection 73.15(1) or (3);

  • (b) a person or entity is served with a notice of a decision made under subsection 73.15(2) indicating that they have committed a violation.

  • (c) [Repealed, 2026, c. 4, s. 102]

  • (d) [Repealed, 2026, c. 4, s. 102]

• Marginal note:Publication — reasons

  (2) In making public the nature of a violation, the Centre may include the reasons for its decision, including the relevant facts, analysis and considerations that formed part of the decision.

Rules about Violations

Marginal note:Violations not offences

• 73.23 (1) For greater certainty, a violation is not an offence.

• Marginal note:Non-application of section 126 of the Criminal Code

  (2) Section 126 of the Criminal Code does not apply in respect of any obligation or prohibition under this Act whose contravention is a violation under this Act.

Marginal note:Due diligence available

• 73.24 (1) Due diligence is a defence in a proceeding in relation to a violation.

• Marginal note:Common law principles

  (2) Every rule and principle of the common law that renders any circumstance a justification or an excuse in relation to a charge for an offence applies in respect of a violation to the extent that it is not inconsistent with this Act.