Vancouver fintech named criminal organisation by US
Businesswoman implicated in PacNet is chairwoman of Ottawa Chamber of Commerce
US authorities have named a Vancouver fintech called PacNet Group a “significant transnational criminal organisation” and is seizing its U.S. assets.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) alleges the PacNet Group has been involved for years in criminal activity, including money laundering and facilitating mail fraud.
“PacNet has knowingly facilitated the fraudulent activities of its customers for many years, and today’s designations are aimed at shielding Americans and the nation’s financial system from the large-scale, illicit money flow that are generated by these scams against vulnerable individuals,” OFAC acting director John Smith said in a press release.
It’s not known yet if the RCMP have been involved with the investigation that led the OFAC to list PacNet and its affiliates as a transnational criminal organisation, or if the network is even on the RCMP’s radar.
The allegations have not been proven in a Canadian court or confirmed by Canadian police.
PacNet lists its North American office location as the 4th Floor, 595 Howe Street
Vancouver. At least one PacNet affiliate, Chexx Inc., has the same location.