Seminar Overview:         

Money laundering continues to pose a significant threat to Canada’s financial integrity, and recent analyses show that the legal profession remains a high-risk target for misuse. Lawyers routinely handle trust funds, create corporate structures, and facilitate real estate and commercial transactions – all activities that can be exploited by bad actors, even when a lawyer is acting in complete good faith. Recent findings from FINTRAC identified billions of dollars in financial activity involving legal professionals between 2017 and 2020, including over 4,000 suspicious transaction reports totaling nearly $8 billion. With Canada now under renewed scrutiny from the Financial Action Task Force, and with lawyers and notaries again identified as having “high vulnerability” to money-laundering risks in the 2025 National Risk Assessment, the regulatory landscape is tightening and expectations of due diligence are increasing across the profession.

In this timely session, Gurprit Bains, former Deputy Chief Legal Officer and Senior Anti-Money Laundering Specialist at the Law Society of British Columbia, will provide a practical and candid examination of how money laundering manifests in legal practice, why the profession is uniquely attractive to organized crime, and what lawyers can do to avoid common traps. Drawing on real-world examples, recent regulatory developments, and lessons from national and international reviews, this webinar will equip practitioners with concrete strategies for risk assessment, client due diligence, trust account vigilance, and recognizing red flags before they escalate. Whether you practise in real estate, corporate law, estates, or general practice, this session will help you strengthen your AML awareness and protect both yourself and your clients.

Seminar Presenter:

Gurprit Bains, Beach Avenue Barristers

Gurprit was called to the British Columbia bar in 1999 and has over 15 years of regulatory experience gained at the Law Society of British Columbia, most recently serving as the Deputy Chief Legal Officer and Senior Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Specialist. In this role, Gurprit led the Investigations, Monitoring & Enforcement group, overseeing the investigation of serious conduct issues, including the referrals made to the Discipline Committee and dealing with interim undertakings sought during the investigation stage. Gurprit also contributed to broader Law Society policy work related to professional regulation and has presented at various sessions on ethics, professional responsibility, and AML obligations.

Gurprit is a certified AML specialist (CAMS designation through ACAMS) and has extensive knowledge of AML regulation of the legal profession. Gurprit was a member of the Federation of Law Societies AML Standing Committee and participated in the Joint Working Group of the Federation and the Government of Canada collaborating on AML issues. Additionally, Gurprit testified with other senior Law Society representatives before the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia.

To register for this seminar, please click the following link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YguXsJAuRSyQFcjjHmC5sg

CPD Credit: 1.5 hours

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Posted: 18 November 2025