Bob Mackin
A money services business (MSB) with a Richmond address successfully challenged a decision by Canada’s anti-money laundering agency to revoke its registration.
A letter addressed to Gleec Pay Ltd. owner and CEO Petr Agular said FINTRAC overturned the March 16 letter of revocation as of April 24. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre reminded the company to act upon FINTRAC requests in a timely manner and retain records of all communications and submissions as part of its record-keeping best practices.
Erica Constant, a senior communications officer with FINTRAC, told theBreaker that registrations for 94 MSBs operating in B.C. were revoked during the first six months of 2026 “for failing to respond to clarification requests or demands for information.”
Pacific Business Centre, 5811 Cooney, in Richmond, B.C. (Dorset Realty)
“Of those 94 revocations, 63 requested a review of their file by the Director and Chief Executive Officer of FINTRAC. Following a review, revocations were upheld in 27 cases and 12 were reinstated as registered,” Constant said. “There are 24 cases still under review.”
Gleec, originally known as Finast Pay Ltd., registered in 2021 to offer foreign exchange, money transferring and virtual currency. B.C. public records show Janis Goba incorporated the company and Jessica Yesenia Cepeda Riviera of Madrid, Spain was the sole director until Agular, of Haje in the Czech Republic, took over on March 16, 2023.
Around the Rim
In Focus Taiwan, the head of the Mainland Affairs Council told lawmakers that 402 Taiwanese have been reported missing, questioned or detained in China.
Figures from Jan. 1, 2024 to July 22 of this year showed 154 Taiwanese reported missing, 32 held for questioning and 216 detained.
Most of them (134) for fraud, (58) other criminal cases and (1) national security. But 23 were accused of religious activities.
Chiu Chui-cheng said the numbers were not an “anti-China” message, but to ensure the public knows about risks of travelling to Mainland China.
ABC News Australia says the country’s fuel discount to be scrapped on Aug. 2, despite potential escalation of war in Iran
Gas was originally discounted 50% — or 32 cents per litre — until July, when the discount was 16 cents. The April-introduced discount was never permanent. The Treasury warned the world’s oil supply has “weaker buffers” should there be another price shock.
In Kyodo News, the population of Japanese nationals dipped below 120 million for the first time in 42 years.
The estimate was 119,736,483 at the start of this year, due to a low birth rate. That is 917,000 less than a year earlier, the biggest drop since 1968 data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
“The number of foreign residents, meanwhile, rose 354,000 to a record 4,031,159.”
Cascadia Calling
In the Oregonian, voters will not have a statewide measure on the ballot this fall, for the first time in 124 years.
“Some of Oregon’s most historic policies have been approved through ballot measures, touching on everything from taxes and capital punishment to women’s suffrage and drug decriminalization.”
Seattle Police say the 15-year-old arrested after the Bite of Seattle shooting near the Space Needle used a ghost gun — which lacks a serial number.
“Police Chief Shon Barnes told a news conference that the weapon was a 9 mm gun from Polymer80 — a now-defunct company that was once a leading manufacturer of ghost gun parts,” KING 5 reported.
Three people were killed and four injured — including a two-year-old — in the July 26 shooting.
Cascadia Daily News reports the U.S. Congressman in the district that includes northwestern corner of Washington State — along the border with B..C. — faces three challengers in a primary election. Democrat Rick Larsen has represented 782,000 people in Island, San Juan, Skagit, Whatcom and western Snohomish counties since 2001.
Larsen is a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, NATO Parliamentary Assembly and co-chair of the U.S.-China Working Group.
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