Canada’s financial intelligence agency has issued an alert this week saying online betting platforms, including those based in Malta, are being used to launder proceeds from the production and sale of illicit synthetic opioids.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FinTRAC) warned that known Fentanyl traffickers have frequently sent money to digital gambling sites and received funds in return from associated payment processors in Canada.

The newly published alert says known Fentanyl traffickers have frequently sent money to digital gambling sites and received funds in return from associated payment processors in Canada, Malta and the United Kingdom.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid typically used to treat patients with chronic severe pain or severe pain following surgery.  Fentanyl is a controlled substance that is similar to morphine but far more potent.

In preparing the alert, Fintrac analysed a sample of about 5,000 suspicious transaction reports related to Fentanyl and synthetic opioids filed between 2020 and 2023.

The Operational Alert, which was developed by FINTRAC, furthers the efforts of Project Guardian, a public-private partnership on the money laundering of proceeds from illicit synthetic opioids.

On 30 November 2022, Malta’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a report on money laundering from Fentanyl and synthetic opioids.

Co-led by the US and Canada, the report includes recommendations for prosecutors and law enforcement authorities on countering financial flows from the illicit drug trade.

Two years later, it seems those recommendations, which include several indicators of high-risk activity and preventative measures implementation, have not quelled concerns.