Manulife fined $1.2 million by Canada’s money-laundering watchdog

It took 10 months of media scrutiny and public outrage before Canadians learned Manulife Bank of Canada was the mysterious financial institution behind a $1.2-million fine for money-laundering violations.  On Monday, Manulife issued a public statement confirming it was the mystery bank in question.

“The penalty essentially related to administrative lapses in reporting to FINTRAC,” the bank said in a written statement. “Although we operate at the highest ethical standard, we are capable of administrative errors. They were remedied in the first half of 2014 . . . . Manulife did not enable or facilitate money-laundering and media reports to the contrary are inaccurate.”