B.C. Real Estate Company Fined $230K for Multiple AML Violations

Nu Stream Realty Inc. has been fined $230,423 for failure to comply with federal Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and CFT laws.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) announced on July 12 that the real estate firm Nu Stream Realty Inc. has been reported for multiple violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act.

In one instance, Nu Stream failed to submit a suspicious transaction report where there were reasonable grounds to suspect that transactions were related to a money laundering offence, according to FINTRAC.

Moreover, many systemic issues were also identified by the financial regulator. For instance, Nu Stream was found to have no appointed person to oversee compliance with the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its associated regulations. 

As such, it failed to keep adequate records, including failing to institute and document a review, every two years, to assess the effectiveness of its policies and procedures, risk assessment and training program.

Nu Stream also failed to keep all prescribed information in receipt of funds records and in client information records; it also failed to keep all prescribed identification information in client information records, according to FINTRAC.

Real estate brokers and sales representatives and several other business sectors are required under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to keep certain records, identify customers, maintain a compliance regime and report certain financial transactions to FINTRAC.

Nu Stream was established in 2015 and has B.C. offices in Burnaby, Vancouver and Richmond. It also has an office in Toronto as well as a “global research centre” in Beijing, as it caters to Chinese-speaking clientele.

“Nu Stream China is established on the basis of the original sales department of Vanfun.com, which has rich experience in selling overseas real estate in China, laying a foundation for the company to expand and carry out real estate business globally,” its website notes.

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