Organized crime gangs are increasingly using investment professionals with varying degrees of complicity to tap into and illegally manipulate Canada's stock exchanges and capital markets, a new report from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has claimed.
The report, published by the police force's Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (Imets), says the gangs' activities now pose a "significant threat" to Canadian markets, the Canadian Press stated.
It added that professionals' knowledge of the illegal nature of the schemes they facilitate ranges from "wilful blindness" to "direct fraudulent participation".
"Organized crime groups are constantly innovating their money laundering and fraud techniques in the attempt to remain one step ahead of law enforcement," the report also warned.
Established in 2003 as a response to US market scandals including Enron and WorldCom, Imets comprise specialist RCMP investigators, forensic accountants and securities regulators, who work together to untangle and prosecute highly-complex financial crimes.
There are nine teams in all, based in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary.
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