Is Utorrent Illegal In Canada
Carolina Bornman
It is illegal to take cannabis across the Canadian border, whether you are entering or leaving the country. This includes products containing cannabis, such as edible cannabis, cannabis extracts and cannabis topicals, and all products containing CBD.
Even if you have an exemption from Health Canada authorizing travel with cannabis, not declaring cannabis in your possession at the Canadian border is a serious criminal offence. You could be arrested and prosecuted.
Most countries, including the United States, have a zero-tolerance policy with respect to illegal drugs, including possession and use. You could face severe penalties for the possession of even a small quantity. This can include spending several years in prison in a foreign country, or even the death penalty.
You must always declare your prescription medication with a controlled substance to a CBSA border services officer (BSO) when you are entering Canada. When travelling outside of Canada, the prescription medication with a controlled substance must not contravene the laws and regulations of the country of destination.
As of May 7, 2024, adults (18 and over) in the Canadian province of British Columbia can possess up to 2.5 grams of certain illegal drugs in private residences, designated healthcare clinics, places where people are lawfully sheltering and overdose prevention and drug checking sites. People can be arrested and charged for possession, or have their drugs seized in any amount, in all public places, including public transit. The exemption is in effect until January 31, 2026.
The purpose of this Operational Alert is to support reporting entities in recognizing financial transactions suspected of being related to the laundering of funds associated with the illegal wildlife trade of animals. This Operational Alert provides money laundering indicators as a result of the analysis of FINTRAC transaction reports related to illegal wildlife trade and supported by analysis of domestic and international sources. The indicators are intended to be applied in a Canadian context; however, they can be used by other jurisdictions to help them identify financial transactions and high risk factors related to illegal wildlife trade.
Despite domestic and international legislation instituted to protect wildlife, actors in Canada and abroad routinely conduct the illegal import, export and breeding of protected animal wildlife. For example, Canadian bears are poached for their bile and for parts, such as their claws and paws, which are subsequently sold for a large profit, especially on the traditional medicine market domestically and internationally. Other wild animals in Canada are also illegally hunted for fur and exported globally as trophies and other decorative products.
Wildlife crime refers to the trade of wild plant and animal species in contravention with both national and international laws and regulations. Wildlife crime can include commercial, import, export, and re-export activity and can occur at any stage in the supply chain, including but not limited to sales, delivery, transport, purchase, and possession of protected species of flora and fauna.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates the legal wildlife trade and ensures the protection of animal and plant species from over-exploitation and poaching. In Canada, CITES obligations are implemented under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA). Any wildlife trading done in contravention to WAPPRIITA is considered illegal wildlife trade and can be prosecuted under WAPPRIITA.
Illegal wildlife trade not only affects Canada, but also poses a serious threat internationally. It is a major transnational organized crime, which generates approximately USD 20 billion in criminal proceeds each yearFootnote 4. With enforcement action often centered on poachers and smugglers, and ignoring other key enablers in the funding and supply chain, criminal actors find it a lucrative activity that is low-risk and high-reward. Furthermore, wildlife crime threatens biodiversity, fuels corruption, and often involves fraud schemes, tax evasion, and other serious crimes to facilitate their illegal wildlife tradeFootnote 5.
Overseas syndicates often facilitate the illegal trade of wildlife across the world. Organized crime groups involved in wildlife crime are often involved in other domestic and internationally connected criminal activity such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, firearm trafficking and money launderingFootnote 6. This development suggests that organized crime groups are continuing to grow their profits and power through wildlife crime.
Illegal wildlife trade can also have significant public health impacts, as the circulation of animal parts increases the chances of zoonotic disease transmission and can be a vector of pandemicsFootnote 7. According to the World Health Organization, close to 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases over the past three decades that have affected humans originate in animals. Illegally sourced and traded wildlife lack sanitary measures and increases the risk of human infectionFootnote 8.
FINTRAC analyzed a sample of approximately 200 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) related to illegal wildlife trade between 2011 and 2022. The majority of these STRs involved the suspected illegal importation of wildlife into Canada, particularly from China and Sub-Saharan Africa. STRs also indicated the suspected exportation of wildlife from Canada to other jurisdictions, such as the United States and China. Additionally, there are common trends observed in transactions concerning illegal wildlife trade for both importing and exporting.
Overall, cash transactions, wire transfers, and email money transfers were the primary transactions in STRs. Additionally, FINTRAC observed several money laundering methods. These included the use of nomineesFootnote 9, front companies owned by traffickers or their associates, and funds layered between related accounts.
In addition to illegal wildlife trade, many individuals named in STRs were also involved in or suspected to be involved in other criminal activities (e.g., drug trafficking, fraud) and were members or associates of criminal groups (such as Asian Organized Crime). Therefore, the money laundering methods observed were likely also used to launder proceeds generated from other criminal activities and co-mingled with suspected illegal wildlife trade proceeds.
Individuals and entities involved in illegal wildlife trade used nominees to funnel proceeds of crime, pay for illegal wildlife trade associated costs (shipping, cages, short term accommodation and packaging), launder funds, and/or conceal beneficial ownership. These nominees were often family members of traffickers and used as intermediaries to funnel funds to traffickers. The family members in FINTRAC's sample were usually the suspected traffickers' spouses but also included siblings and parents.
Transactions suspected of being related to the illegal importation of wildlife into Canada include frequent wire transfers to jurisdictions of concern for wildlife crime such as China, Hong Kong, Australia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, often in rounded dollar amounts. Additionally, these funds are frequently sent to individuals or associates named in open-source information as being involved in the illegal wildlife trade (see Appendix for sanitized FINTRAC case example).
Individuals who are involved in the illegal importation of wildlife into Canada were reported to have made payments to individuals and/or entities involved with animals, such as aquariums and zoos, and not in line with the expected account activity. FINTRAC observed instances where the account would send funds to an individual or entity suspected of being involved in the illegal wildlife trade, and then receive funds from individuals and entities located in Canada, suggesting the suspected resale of animals domestically.
Canadian importers are being used as financial intermediaries for wildlife trafficking, receiving funds from ultimate recipients and sending funds to suppliers in other countries. One such example is an individual in Canada who sent funds to an entity in the United States followed by a transfer of funds from an import/export entity operating in China, for a similar dollar value, suggesting the individual was importing wildlife only to re-export it overseas.
As Figure 1 demonstrates, the illegal importation of exotic wildlife often starts with a Canadian trader who orders wildlife through a coordinator located, for example, in Australia, Asia or Africa. The coordinator manages all aspects of an illegal trade operation required to source wildlife for the Canadian trader including the engagement of poachers, breeders, traders, money mules and couriers located in their country.
The Canadian trader sends funds directly to the trader, poacher and breeder located abroad for wildlife sourcing, and indirectly to the coordinator through a money mule in order to mask their role in managing operations. Poachers, breeders, or traders transport wildlife to the coordinator through legitimate or illicit channels. In the case of the legal domestic trade of live animals, breeders and traders may be unaware of their participation in the illegal wildlife trade. Wildlife is transported to a courier who is paid to ensure transportation of animals to the Canadian trader. Transportation can be indirect, through the postal service or transportation companies often funded with cash, or directly by couriers who conceal wildlife in their luggage or their person when travelling to Canada. The Canadian trader may advertise the trafficked animals for sale on a website or through social media. Advertisement can take place for the sale of animals on the domestic market or for their re-export overseas. Contact information such as addresses, phone numbers and email addresses found on online and social media platforms may provide useful leads for identifying suspicious financial transactions linked to traders in illegal wildlife trade.
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