Law Enforcement Actions under the Economic Emergency Measures Order (Emergencies Act)
Backgrounder
February 19, 2022
Law Enforcement Actions under the Economic Emergency Measures Order (Emergencies Act)
- The Emergencies Act allows law enforcement and monitoring agencies to work more closely with Canadian financial institutions; enhancing the effectiveness of law enforcement conducting investigations into blockades.
- It allows financial institutions to freeze financial products of individuals and companies suspected of involvement in the illegal acts mentioned in the law, and for law enforcement to share information with financial institutions for that purpose.
- With regards to the enacting and application of the Economic Emergency Measures Order, police partners are working to collect relevant information on persons, vehicles and companies.
- We are already seeing results, including:
- The freezing of 219 financial products;
- The disclosure of 56 entities;
- 170 Bitcoin addresses have been shared with virtual currency exchangers, and;
- One financial institution proactively freezing the account of a payment processor to a value of $3.8M.
- Police are in constant communication with the financial institutions to help them make the proper determination, as per the powers of the EEMO, before they take action to freeze financial products within holding. Thus far police have shared several information packages of persons, vehicles and companies involved directly or indirectly in an activity prohibited under the Order.
- It remains the responsibility of the banks to make the decision of freezing the accounts, not an order from the law enforcement.
- Police remain in daily communications with the financial institutions to assist them, when possible, to determine when assets can be unfrozen.
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