By: Joni Brennan, President of DIACC-CCIAN
The recent FINTRAC Special Bulletin on money laundering and sanctions evasion in the legal profession is a clear reminder that safeguarding our financial systems—and upholding security—requires both vigilance and innovation. At the core of these efforts lies a powerful tool: digital verification of client identification. This technology is crucial in preventing the misuse of legal services for illicit activities like money laundering and sanctions evasion.
While most legal professionals work with integrity, the bulletin underscores that a few actors may unwittingly (or intentionally) facilitate financial crime. This crime threatens the integrity of our financial system and erodes the public’s trust in our legal system, where the majority are acting in good faith.
So, where does DIACC fit in? How does digital verification help mitigate these risks?
DIACC’s Role in Strengthening Digital Verification
Our work—anchored in the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF)—is focused on enabling secure, privacy-respecting digital trust and verification services that support consumers, businesses, and governments. These services are essential in a world where digital interactions are the norm, and ensuring information authenticity is critical to preventing fraud and criminal activities.
The Law Society Profile: Supporting Legal Sector Security
One of the most exciting initiatives DIACC has undertaken is the development of the PCTF Law Society Profile. Working closely with the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (FLSC) and essential interested parties, this project highlights how the legal sector can play a pivotal role in combating money laundering. By establishing auditable criteria to mitigate risk and build assurance for client verification, the PCTF Law Society Profile enables legal professionals to confidently select trusted services that verify their clients’ identities, providing evidence of investment in alignment with stringent anti-money laundering (AML) and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements.
This certification process helps legal professionals choose services one step ahead of fraudsters, ensuring transparency and security as they navigate high-value or high-risk transactions.
As the trusted list of DIACC PCTF Certified Providers grows, DIACC also launched its Member Services Directory, a directory of services offered by DIACC members, certified providers, and applicants. And, let’s face it, digital verification can be hard to explain, so we’ve launched a growing Big Book of Digital Trust Stories. Our Digital Trust Stories explain the mechanics and benefits in simple language to help people and organizations understand the benefits of digital trust and verification. These are just some of the tools DIACC develops to help ensure legal professionals can access the digital trust tools they need.
Addressing Risks in Financial and Legal Transactions
The findings from FINTRAC serve as a call to action. Legal professionals—particularly those involved in high-risk sectors like real estate or corporate structuring—are in a unique position of trust. Digital verification can play a crucial role in mitigating risks by adding layers of security that protect against misuse.
By adopting robust digital client verification solutions, legal professionals can:
- Mitigate real estate and corporate transaction risks, ensuring transparency around beneficial ownership.
- Strengthen KYC processes, ensuring that clients are who they claim to be.
- Safeguard solicitor-client privilege by securing client access to sensitive legal processes.
DIACC and the Path Forward
The need to protect our financial integrity has never been more apparent. DIACC’s commitment, mission, and vision align directly with the challenges identified in the FINTRAC bulletin. Our role is to ensure that digital trust and verification tools are practical, accessible, and secure across industries, particularly in high-risk areas like the legal profession.
We are proud to partner with industries, governments, and professionals who share our vision for a future where transparency, security, and trust are central to every transaction.
DIACC is an open and transparent community of leaders dedicated to one issue: the responsible adoption of digital trust and verification practices.
Contact DIACC to collaborate and build a future where transparency, privacy, security, and trust are at the forefront of every transaction.