Canada’s financial intelligence unit has warned that online gambling sites could be used to launder proceeds from fentanyl trafficking and manufacture.
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) stated that online gaming services may be used to launder revenues from illegal drug distribution.
The investigation was conducted as part of Project Guardian, a Canadian government operation designed to target money laundering involving illicit synthetic opioids.
FINTRAC highlighted suspicious transaction reports in which known fentanyl traffickers transferred monies from inbound email money transfers to gambling sites.
In exchange, these traffickers received payments from payment processors situated in Malta, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
FINTRAC has stated: “It is suspected that individuals are depositing and withdrawing funds at online casinos, using these platforms to disguise proceeds from fentanyl and opioid trafficking as wagers and winnings from online gambling.”
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Fentanyl traffickers exploit iGaming payment processors
The Ottawa-based organization cited one case in which a person got several hundred high-value email money transfers from a payment processor affiliated with online gambling.
This individual then sent a comparable number of outgoing email money transactions to the same payment processor and other online gambling sites.
This payment processor, as emphasized by FINTRAC, is known for making payments and withdrawals from online casinos easier by employing e-transfers as the primary deposit and transfer method.
According to the financial intelligence unit, “In essence, these payment processors send email money transfers on behalf of individuals who deposit and withdraw funds from online casinos”.
FINTRAC noted that these approaches allow users to avoid potential transaction rejections by banking institutions owing to their association with online casinos.
This is because transactions are presented as an e-transfer from the processor rather than a transfer from the online gaming platform.
The reporting organization judged these transactions suspicious owing to the client’s history of sending money to people involved in fentanyl trafficking, according to FINTRAC.
FINTRAC said it reached its conclusions after reviewing nearly 5,000 suspicious transaction reports involving fentanyl and synthetic opioids between 2020 and 2023.
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