Canadian Institute for Financial Crime Analysis to tackle white collar crime

Toronto, April 7, 2010 (AllPayNews) – Each year, business and personal losses resulting from financial crime cost Canadians billions of dollars. Seneca College’s Centre for Financial Services and Williams McGuire AML Inc. have established a first-of-its-kind Canadian Institute for Financial Crime Analysis (CIFCA) to tackle the growing problem of white collar crime.

“The establishment of the Canadian Institute for Financial Crime Analysis not only responds to the needs of the financial sector, but to the needs of all Canadians who run the risk of being victims of financial crime,” said David Agnew, Seneca College President. “The Institute will be taking on issues such as money laundering, mortgage fraud, debit card skimming, and credit card fraud, all of which undermine the economy’s growth, the effectiveness of our financial institutions and consumers’ well-being.”

The CIFCA will bring together industry partners from fields such as risk management, compliance, law enforcement, forensic accounting, and financial services to address the emerging issues in financial crime.
The CIFCA is designed to:

• Deliver practical professional development and training programs, applied research in financial crime methods and trends, and educational solutions for financial crime analysis in Canada.

• Provide online access to networking opportunities, latest applied research findings and industry information, specifically relating to court cases, regulatory changes and technology development.

• Research on legislation and policy with the expertise from the financial crime analysis sector.

“What we know about financial crime, we have largely learned from our experiences and actual losses, as we typically spend most of our time and resources in loss-aversion, and little intelligence is gathered and shared,” said Glen Stover, Director, Anti-Money Laundering Unit, Group Compliance, Scotiabank. “That’s why the work being done by Seneca’s Canadian Institute for Financial Crime Analysis is so important. With the CIFCA’s recognition that financial crime does and will continue to have a significant economic and societal impact, we begin to take the necessary steps towards more targeted and effective prevention, prediction, detection and remediation.”

Chaired by Dr. David Hicks, the CIFCA will open in September 2010. Dr. Hicks, who joins the Institute from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, holds a PhD, Masters and Honours degree in criminology. His academic career has focused on research and teaching in the areas of organized crime, money laundering and community safety. He is a specialist researcher on financial and organized crimes and will be supported by an advisory committee of industry experts.

“Seneca works closely with business and industry to ensure that the programs and services we offer are responsive to their needs and we are pleased to be able to bring an expert such as David Hicks on board for this new initiative,” said President Agnew.

More information on the CIFCA.

Williams McGuire AML Inc. (WM-AML) is Canada’s Centre of Excellence for Financial Crime Risk and Intelligence. Its team of full-time intelligence analysts, criminologists, anti-money laundering specialists, and forensic accountants assist financial institution clients across Canada to: understand their financial crime risks and related compliance obligations; design and evaluate programs to mitigate their financial crime and compliance risks; and conduct financial investigations. WM-AML also offers outsourced anti-money laundering, counter-corruption, and economic sanctions compliance services through vCAMLO. Find out more at www.amlcompliance.ca.

WM-AML is a division of Williams & Partners, a firm of 50 professionals offering accounting, assurance, tax, advisory, and forensic accounting services. Find out more at www.williamsandpartners.com.

More people choose Seneca than any other college in Canada. With 11 campuses across the Greater Toronto Area, Seneca provides internationally and nationally recognized education, training, and academic pathways key to graduate career success in the global economy. Every Seneca diploma, certificate and degree program is developed to a high academic standard, in consultation with industry, integrated with information technology, combined with technical and transferable skills, and reinforced by opportunities for ongoing education and re-training.

Find out more at www.senecac.on.ca

For more information, please contact:
Seneca College Media Relations
416-491-5050 ext. 7018