FINTRAC Tactical Intelligence: Project PROTECT

OVERVIEW Project Name: PROTECT

ProjectPROTECTisaBMOledini6a6ve.Workinggrouppartnersincludemajorbanks,FINTRAC,andlawenforcement

HumanTraffickingintheSexTrade

TraffickinginPersonsMaterialbenefitfromatraffickedpersonProcuringandadver6singsexualservices

Corrobora6onand/orLeadsSearchwarrants,Produc6onOrders,InterceptsInforminterviews,interroga6ons,debriefs

PARTNERS

INVESTIGATION

DISCLOSUREVALUE

OFFENCES

STRs Received

•  Between Jan 1, 2015 and Jan 1, 2016

(launch of Project PROTECT): 400+ STRs

•  Between Jan 1, 2016 and Dec 31, 2016: 2000 STRs

•  Between Jan 1, 2017 and Feb 7, 2017: 500+ STRs

•  STRs received from across Canada

“We are filing this STR as part of PROJECT PROTECT” “Several red flags related to a suspicion of HUMAN TRAFFICKING observed”

Prior to Project PROTECT (Jan 2015 - Dec 2015) •  19 disclosures re: Human Trafficking

FINTRAC Disclosures

47%53%

Reac6ve Proac6ve

53%

37%

5%5%

Ontario Quebec Alberta NovaSco6a

Since the inception of Project PROTECT (Jan 2016 – Feb 8 2017): •  102 disclosures relating to 230 subjects

FINTRAC Disclosures

80%

20%

Proac6veReac6ve

Observed Trends noted in Suspicious Transaction Reports

-Mediaar)clepublishedinJanuary2016ci)ngamanarrestedonnumerouschargesincludingtraffickinganunderagegirl,aggravatedassault,sexualassault,anddrugtrafficking

-Aninternetsearchforthephonenumberthecustomerprovidedinherbankprofilereturnsadsonwww.escortslivecams.comandhFp://www.escortsnumbers.com/

-numerouscreditcardpaymentstoawebsiteadver)singescortservices

ADVERSEMEDIA

ATTENTION

IDENTIFYERSLINKEDTOONLINE

ADVERTISING

ADVERTISINGPURCHASES

Observed Trends noted in Suspicious Transaction Reports

-Mul)plepoint-of-saletransac)onsatcarrentalagencies,localhotels/motels,airline)cketpurchases,train)cketpurchases

-Mul)plepoint-of-saletransac)onsatfastfoodrestaurants,conveniencestoresinci)esacrossCanada

-Hotel/Moteltransac)onsoKentotallingthousandsofdollarsmonthlyacrossCanada-Hotel/Motelchargesindifferentci)esinshort)mespan

TRAVELRELATED

PURCHASES

TRANSACTIONSACROSSCANADA

EXCESSIVEHOTEL

TRANSACTIONS

Observed Trends noted in Suspicious Transaction Reports

-Cashdepositsconductedat10differentbrancheslocatedthroughoutmul)pleprovinces

-Ac)vityreviewshowsthatthemajorityofcashdepositswereconductedbythirdpar)es.DifferentABMsusedtowithdrawfunds

-AccountsareprimarilyfundedbycashandE-mailmoneytransferwhichareinturnwithdrawnincashandsentbackoutviaE-mailmoneytransfer

DEPOSITSACROSSCANADA

THIRDPARTY

DEPOSITS

FLOWTHROUGHACTIVITY

Observed Trends noted in Suspicious Transaction Reports

-Unemployedindividualsconduc)nglargecashdeposits-Monthlycreditcardtransac)onsgreaterthanstatedannualincome

-Highvolumeofcashdepositstotalingover$200,000.00-ThemajorityofdepositsmadeattheATMoccurbetween12:00am-6:30am-Excessivehotelandridesharingservicechargesonadailybasis-eTransferssenttovariousfemalenames,withalternatenamesinbrackets-Airline,Bus,andothertravelcompanypurchasesofwhichatleastoneisforafemaleindividualandtherela)onshipisunknown

Airline,train,and/orbus)cketpurchasesLocaltransporta)on(e.g.,taxi,limousine,vehiclerental,ridesharingservices;Fastfoodrestaurants;Drugstores/Clothingstores/Beautystores(e.g.,storesthatselllingerieand/ormake-up)

FINANCIALACTIVITY

INCONSISTENTWITHSTATEDOCCUPATION

SUSPICIOUSFINANCIALACTIVITY

FREQUENTAND

EXCESSIVEPOSPURCHASES

UNCLASSIFIED

Observed Trends continued…

UNCLASSIFIED

An example of hotel expenditures from a single account:

STR Information Example

Month

#HotelTransacLons

Approx.Amount

August 1 $210

September 4 $750

October 5 $1,500

November 11 $3,000

December 4 $715

January 12 $2,500

February 7 $1,800

UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED

Day 1

Day 1

Days 3 & 4

Day 4

Day 5

Days 6 – 11

Day 11

Day 13

Day 4 Days 6 – 11

Day 5

Day 13

Day 1 Day 4 Day 13 Day 6 Day 7

10 Purchases at Drug Store totalling $120

FINTRAC Operational Alert •  http://www.fintrac-canafe.gc.ca/publications/operation/oai-hts-eng.asp

ThepurposeofthisOpera)onalAlertistosupportfinancialins)tu)onsinrecognizingandrepor)ngcompletedoraFemptedfinancialtransac)onsthataresuspectedofbeingrelatedtothelaunderingoffundsfromthetraffickingofvic)msspecificallyforsexualexploita)on,andnotforcedlabour.TheindicatorsinthisdocumentweresynthesizedfromtheFinancialTransac)onsandReportsAnalysisCentreofCanada’s(FINTRAC)intelligenceholdingsandreflecttheCentre’sengagementwithCanada’sfinancialins)tu)onsandpoliceservicesintheireffortstodetect,deterandpreventmoneylaunderingandterroristfinancingac)vity.

UNCLASSIFIED

Transactional Network

Project PROTECT Disclosure Recipients

125

2068 28

1

7

22