Royal Bank of Canada Fined Over Money-Laundering Lapses

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Canada's financial-intelligence agency said Tuesday it has fined Royal Bank of Canada, the country's largest lender by market capitalization, for failing to comply with the country's rules aimed at deterring money laundering.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, or Fintrac, said the fine, of 7.5 million Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of $5.5 million, is the largest financial penalty it has yet levied.

The regulator said Royal Bank failed to submit suspicious transactions reports "where there were reasonable grounds to suspect the transactions" were related to money laundering. It added Royal Bank failed to maintain updated policies and procedures regarding the vetting of potentially suspicious transactions.

A representative for Royal Bank was not immediately available for comment.

FINTRAC is responsible for overseeing that banks comply with laws meant to deter money laundering and terrorist financing.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 05, 2023 15:40 ET (20:40 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.