Enforcement Notification - Tax evasion - Collecteur Project: heavy sentence for a third taxpayer involved in a money laundering network Français

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Canada Revenue Agency

Jun 20, 2023, 16:14 ET

MONTRÉAL, June 20, 2023 /CNW/ - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that Mohamad Jaber of Laval, Quebec, was sentenced on June 20, 2023, at the Montréal Courthouse, to 5 years in jail and fined $850,817, in addition to having properties with an estimated value of $4.6 million confiscated as proceeds of crime.

Mr. Jaber pleaded guilty on May 5, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to commit tax evasion under the Income Tax Act, laundering the proceeds of crime, trafficking in property obtained by crime and to operate a money-services business without a licence.

A CRA investigation revealed that Mr. Jaber had set up a system to launder money derived from the illicit activities of various individuals. To do so, Mr. Jaber used an informal value transfer system with ramifications in several countries and received illicit commissions using false invoices or accommodation invoices aimed at concealing the real source of the monies. Mr. Jaber also used nominees to incorporate three companies and opened bank accounts in their names, creating a second scheme to legitimize the appearance of funds deposited in their bank accounts. In addition, Mr. Jaber enabled third parties to claim false expenses on their T2 corporate income tax returns, allowing them to evade or attempt to evade taxes totaling $850,817.

All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.

This conviction is the result of a joint investigation by the CRA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, dubbed Collecteur Project, which targeted a money laundering and tax evasion scheme. Two other taxpayers were also convicted following this investigation. For information on the conviction of the other two individuals, please refer to the following enforcement notification: Collecteur Project: CRA joint forces operation leads to the conviction of two taxpayers guilty of tax evasion.

The CRA helps to prevent, detect and disrupt money laundering by investigating suspected cases of tax evasion, tax fraud and other serious violations of Canada's tax laws. For the five-year period, from April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2023, the courts convicted 144 taxpayers for tax evasion of more than $35.1 million in federal taxes evaded. These convictions resulted in sentences totalling almost $20.9 million in court fines. Of the 144 convictions, 62 individuals were sent to jail for a total time of 111.2 years.

In addition to the court imposed fines and/or jail sentences, convicted taxpayers have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA.  

The CRA is dedicated to maintaining the integrity of Canada's tax system, thereby contributing to the social and economic well-being of Canadians. The CRA continues to aggressively pursue tax evasion, and false claims with all the tools available to it. The CRA works to make sure that individuals and businesses report all income earned and only claim benefits to which they are entitled, so that important benefit programs can be administered to those who need them. Any individual or business who underreports income, or claims losses or benefits to which they are not entitled may have to repay the benefit amounts and may be subject to other possible action.

The CRA has set up a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current on the CRA's enforcement efforts.

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SOURCE Canada Revenue Agency

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Canada Revenue Agency

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Government of Canada