Ontario brokerage says it will challenge $150K FINTRAC fine in court

FINTRAC has imposed a nearly $150,000 penalty on Century 21 Heritage Group Ltd. following a compliance review, a decision the brokerage says it is appealing. 

The real estate brokerage, which has offices in several Ontario communities, including Thornhill, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Hamilton and Kingston, was flagged for not filing a suspicious transaction report in a situation where there were reasonable grounds to suspect the activity could be linked to money laundering or terrorist financing.

The penalty was issued on Dec. 10, 2025, as part of FINTRAC’s efforts to ensure businesses in the real estate sector follow Canada’s anti-money laundering rules. The notice does not specify the office where the incident took place.

Brokerage moves to appeal

Century 21 Heritage Group managing partner Eryn Richardson said the brokerage has already started the process to appeal the fine in the Federal Court. 

“While a (suspicious transaction report) was ultimately submitted, FINTRAC determined that it should have been filed earlier based on its interpretation of risk indicators. We are currently appealing this determination,” said Richardson in a statement provided to Real Estate Magazine.

Richardson believes the monetary penalty “does not appropriately reflect the circumstances of the transaction,” he said, particularly given that a suspicious transaction report was ultimately filed and no criminal activity was identified.

He said the suspicious transaction was uncovered in the brokerage’s first-ever audit.

A lesson learned

Richardson said the situation shows that even a strong reporting process isn’t infallible. 

The brokerage’s compliance framework includes a FINTRAC course included in training, mandatory use of Fintracker and ongoing education for agents. 

Still, he says, “any compliance system is only as strong as the information entered into it.”

In this case, Richardson claims the agent did not provide complete and accurate information on their client. FINTRAC legislation requires agents to fill out a client identification form for every client with whom they conduct a financial transaction. The requirements are meant to make it more difficult for persons involved in money laundering or terrorist operations to use real estate as a shelter or front for the proceeds of crime.

“There was no intent alleged, but the absence of complete information limited the ability to assess and document risk appropriately,” he said.

Richardson said that the agent involved is no longer affiliated with Century 21 Heritage Group.

Heavy responsibility placed on brokerages

Todd Shyiak, executive vice president of Century 21 Canada, said brokerages shoulder more responsibility than they may be equipped to handle. 

“Current FINTRAC obligations require real estate brokerages to do more than they can realistically do within the law. Brokerages don’t have the authority to review bank records or authenticate foreign entities, so (brokerages) rely on individual agents to enter information in a complete, timely manner,” he said in a statement provided to REM.

He proposes a solution: shift the responsibility of ownership verification to banks, while requiring real estate brokerages to verifying government ID, having good training programs for agents, maintaining good records and reporting suspicious behavior. 

“FINTRAC’s new rules and auditing process present unintended compliance constraints, and we’re hoping they can be adjusted,” said Shyiak.

Several brokerages fined in recent months

FINTRAC fines are on the rise. The federal agency says in 2024-25, FINTRAC issued 23 Notices of Violation of non-compliance to businesses, the largest number in one year in its history, for a total of more than $25 million.

Real estate brokerages are among the most common types of businesses to face penalization. 

In November, FINTRAC announced three Canadian brokerages had been fined:

• Houston & Associates Realty Ltd of Calgary was fined $117,975 in May for five administrative violations
• HomeLife New World Realty Inc. of Toronto and Richmond Hill was fined $36,135 in May for three administrative violations
• 1135233 B.C. Ltd., also operating as LeHomes Realty Premier, of Vancouver was fined $149,886 for six administrative violations.